Image processing device, image processing method, and program

ABSTRACT

There is provided an image processing device including a person recognition unit that recognizes a person included in each of a plurality of captured images, an image evaluation unit that evaluates one or more captured image groups extracted from among the plurality of captured images, on the basis of a degree of appearance for each person of interest recognized by the person recognition unit, and an image selection unit that selects a captured image group having the highest result of the evaluation by the image evaluation unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. §371of International Application No. PCT/JP2013/075768 filed Sep. 24, 2013,published on May 15, 2014 as WO 2014/073275 A1, which claims priorityfrom Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2012-247892 filed in theJapanese Patent Office on Nov. 9, 2012.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an image processing device, an imageprocessing method, and a program.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, mobile phones with onboard image capture functions and digitalcameras have become widespread, enabling individuals to conduct imagecapture easily in a variety of places. In addition, there is also thedevelopment of information processing technology that supportsconnections between people by including functions for sharing personalcaptured images, such as social networking services (SNS) and blogs, forexample.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses technology that acquires andmanages information related to connections with users, on the basis of acommunication history of a mobile terminal. Also, Patent Literature 2discloses technology that estimates a person having a high informationpropagation ability, on the basis of a communication history of acommunication terminal.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   Patent Literature 1: JP 2012-133735A-   Patent Literature 2: JP 2012-064151A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

However, the above technologies are unable to provide useful supportwhen it is desirable to choose some images from among multiple capturedimages. For example, when multiple captured images are captured in aplace where many people gather, such as at an event venue, it isdesirable to choose a group of images that evenly includes the eventparticipants from among the multiple captured images, but this cannot berealized with the above technology. Also, a group of images thatincludes a specific person such as the organizer of the event cannot beautomatically chosen.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a new and improved imageprocessing device, image processing method, and program able to provideuseful support when it is desirable to choose some images from amongmultiple captured images.

Solution to Problem

To solve the problem, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, there is provided an image processing device including aperson recognition unit that recognizes a person included in each of aplurality of captured images, an image evaluation unit that evaluatesone or more captured image groups extracted from among the plurality ofcaptured images, on the basis of a degree of appearance for each personof interest recognized by the person recognition unit, and an imageselection unit that selects a captured image group having the highestresult of the evaluation by the image evaluation unit.

To solve the problem, according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure, there is provided an image processing method includingrecognizing a person included in each of a plurality of captured images,evaluating one or more captured image groups extracted from among theplurality of captured images, on the basis of a degree of appearance foreach recognized person of interest, and selecting a captured image grouphaving the highest result of the evaluation.

To solve the problem, according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure, there is provided a program for causing a computer tofunction as a person recognition unit that recognizes a person includedin each of a plurality of captured images, an image evaluation unit thatevaluates one or more captured image groups extracted from among theplurality of captured images, on the basis of a degree of appearance foreach person of interest recognized by the person recognition unit, andan image selection unit that selects a captured image group having thehighest result of the evaluation by the image evaluation unit.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present disclosure as described above, it is possibleto provide useful support when it is desirable to choose some imagesfrom among multiple captured images.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of acommunication system according to the first embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a hardware configurationof a first communication terminal according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overview of the sameembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of afirst communication terminal according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of asecond communication terminal according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of a playlist according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of a playlist screen according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a first sequence diagram illustrating operation from applaunch to content playback according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a second sequence diagram illustrating operation from applaunch to content playback according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a third sequence diagram illustrating operation from applaunch to content playback according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a first sequence diagram illustrating operation of changingplayback content according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a second sequence diagram illustrating operation of changingplayback content according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of acommunication system according to a first modification of the sameembodiment.

FIG. 14 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of afirst communication terminal according to the same modification.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of a playlist table according to the same modification.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of an image table according to the same modification.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of an event review screen according to the samemodification.

FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating operation according to thesame modification.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of acommunication system according to a second modification of the sameembodiment.

FIG. 20 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of afirst communication terminal according to the same modification.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of data managed by a music selling service according tothe same modification.

FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram illustrating operation according to thesame modification.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of acommunication system according to the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of an event summary screen according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 25 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of animage processing device according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of an appearance level table according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of capturedimages according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a method ofevaluating a captured image group according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a sequence diagram illustrating operation according to thesame embodiment.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of acommunication system according to the third embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overview of the sameembodiment.

FIG. 32 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of acommunication terminal and an image processing device according to thesame embodiment.

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of a propagation information table according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 34 is a sequence diagram illustrating operation according to thesame embodiment.

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of dataregistered in an information code according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of acommunication system according to the fourth embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overview of the sameembodiment.

FIG. 38 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of afirst communication terminal according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 39 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of asecond communication terminal according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 40 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of a content sharing service screen according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of a content sharing list according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 42 is a sequence diagram illustrating operation during a contentsharing service according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 43 is a sequence diagram illustrating operation after a contentsharing service according to the same embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail and with reference to the attached drawings. Thepresent disclosure may be carried out in various embodiments, examplesof which are described in detail from sections (1. Detailed descriptionof first embodiment) to (4. Detailed description of fourth embodiment).In addition, the detailed description of the embodiments in this sectionwill be given in the order indicated below.

1. Detailed description of first embodiment

-   -   1-1. First embodiment    -   1-2. First modification of first embodiment    -   1-3. Second modification of first embodiment

2. Detailed description of second embodiment

-   -   2-1. Basic configuration of image processing system    -   2-2. Overview of second embodiment    -   2-3. Configuration according to second embodiment    -   2-4. Operation according to second embodiment    -   2-5. Advantageous effects according to second embodiment

3. Detailed description of third embodiment

-   -   3-1. Basic configuration of communication system    -   3-2. Overview of third embodiment    -   3-3. Configuration according to third embodiment    -   3-4. Operation according to third embodiment    -   3-5. Advantageous effects according to third embodiment

4. Detailed description of fourth embodiment

-   -   4-1. Basic configuration of communication system    -   4-2. Overview of fourth embodiment    -   4-3. Configuration according to fourth embodiment    -   4-4. Operation according to fourth embodiment    -   4-5. Advantageous effects according to fourth embodiment

Note that, in this specification and the appended drawings, structuralelements that have substantially the same function and structure aredenoted with the same reference numerals, and repeated explanation ofthese structural elements is omitted.

Also, in this specification and the appended drawings, multiplestructural elements having substantially the same function and structuremay in some cases be distinguished by different letters appended to thesame sign. For example, multiple elements having substantially the samefunction and structure are distinguished as the communication terminal310 a, the communication terminal 310 b, the communication terminal 310c, and so on as necessary. On the other hand, when not particularlydistinguishing each of multiple structural elements having substantiallythe same function and structure, only the same sign will be given. Forexample, the communication terminal 310 a, the communication terminal310 b, and the communication terminal 310 c will be simply designatedthe communication terminal 310 when not being particularlydistinguished.

1. Detailed Description of First Embodiment 1-1. First Embodiment

First, a problem that the first embodiment attempts to solve will bedescribed. In the past, there has been developed technology that acts asa method of playing back background music (BGM) at a place where manypeople gather, such as a party venue, for example, including (A)technology in which a subset of the participants, such as the partyorganizer or a disc jockey (DJ) select and play back music, and (B)technology that automatically plays music continuously using a wiredbroadcast, subscription service, or the like. However, the abovetechnologies of (A) and (B) have the following drawbacks. For example,not all of the participants are able to select music on the spot, notall of the participants are able to play back or change music atarbitrary timings, and in addition, not all participants are able tosearch, listen to, and purchase the music that was played at the partyvenue or the like after the party ends, for example.

In addition, the technologies described in JP 2012-133735A and JP2012-064151A are unable to adequately support joint activity by theusers of multiple communication terminals. For example, in the case ofwanting to collectively enjoy the playback of content in a place wheremany people gather, such as at a party venue, it is desirable for anarbitrary participant to be able to select the content to play back onthe spot, but this cannot be realized with the above technologies. Inaddition, an arbitrary participant is unable to easily change thecontent to play back at an arbitrary timing.

Thus, focusing on the above circumstances led to the creation of a firstcommunication terminal 110 according to the first embodiment. The firstcommunication terminal 110 according to the first embodiment is able tosupport joint activity by the users of multiple communication terminals.

Such a first communication terminal 110 (communication terminal)according to the first embodiment is provided with:

A. a communication unit 1100 (acquisition unit) that acquires, from asecond communication terminal 120 (other communication terminal),meta-information associated with content stored in the secondcommunication terminal 120; and

B. a playlist management unit 1102 that manages a playlist which isshared with the second communication terminal 120 and which is forplaying back content corresponding to the meta-information acquired fromthe second communication terminal 120.

In addition, a second communication terminal 120 according to the firstembodiment is provided with:

C. a storage unit 1202 that stores one or more pieces of content;

D. a communication unit 1200 (transmitting unit) that transmitsmeta-information associated with content stored in the storage unit 1202to the first communication terminal 110 (other communication terminal);

E. a communication unit 1200 (receiving unit) that receives, from thefirst communication terminal 110, a playlist which is shared with thefirst communication terminal 110 and which is for playing back contentcorresponding to the meta-information; and

F. a display unit 1204 that displays a playlist screen based on theplaylist.

1-1-1. Basic Configuration of Communication System

Hereinafter, first, a basic configuration of such a communication systemaccording to the first embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the communication system according tothe first embodiment includes a first communication terminal 110, acommunication network 112, a second communication terminal 120, and aplayback device 130.

—First communication terminal 110—

The first communication terminal 110 is a communication terminalconnectable to the communication network 112 discussed later. The firstcommunication terminal 110 may be a mobile phone such as a smartphone, atablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a digital still camera, adigital video camera, or a game console, for example.

The first communication terminal 110 has a hardware configuration asillustrated in FIG. 2, for example. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the firstcommunication terminal 110 is equipped with a central processing unit(CPU) 1150, read-only memory (ROM) 1152, random access memory (RAM)1154, an internal bus 1156, an interface 1158, an input device 1160, anoutput device 1162, a storage device 1164, an image capture device 1166,and a communication device 1168.

The CPU 1150 is realized as an example of the playlist management unit1102 and the playback control unit 1110 of the first communicationterminal 110 discussed later, for example. The CPU 1150 functions as acomputational processing device and control device, and controls overalloperation inside the first communication terminal 110 by followingvarious programs. The CPU 1150 may be a microprocessor.

The ROM 1152 stores information such as programs and computationalparameters used by the CPU 1150. In addition, the RAM 1154 temporarilystores information such as programs used during execution by the CPU1150, and parameters that change as appropriate during such execution.The CPU 1150, the ROM 1152, and the RAM 1154 are interconnected by theinternal bus 1156 realized as a CPU bus or the like.

The interface 1158 connects the input device 1160, the output device1162, the storage device 1164, the image capture device 1166, and thecommunication device 1168 to the internal bus 1156. For example, theinput device 1160 exchanges data with the CPU 1150 and the like via theinterface 1158 and the internal bus 1156.

The input device 1160 is made up of an input means by which a userinputs information, such as a touch panel, a button, a microphone, or aswitch, for example, and an input control circuit that generates aninput signal on the basis of input from the user, and outputs to the CPU1150. By operating the input device 1160, a user of the firstcommunication terminal 110 is able to input various data and instructthe first communication terminal 110 to perform processing operations,for example.

The output device 1162 includes a display device such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD) device, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED)device, or indicator light, for example. Additionally, the output device1162 includes an audio output device such as a speaker or headphones.For example, the display device displays captured images, generatedimages, and the like. Meanwhile, the audio output device converts audiodata or the like into sound, and outputs the sound.

The storage device 1164 is a device used for data storage, realized asan example of the storage unit 1104 of the first communication terminal110 discussed later, for example. The storage device 1164 may include astorage medium, a recording device that records data to the storagemedium, a readout device that reads out data from the storage medium, adeletion device that deletes data recorded to the storage medium, andthe like. The storage device 1164 stores programs executed by the CPU1150 and various data.

The image capture device 1166 is realized as an example of the imagecapture unit 1116 of the first communication terminal 110 discussedlater, for example. The image capture device 1166 includes a lens and animage sensor such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementarymetal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor, for example. The image capturedevice 1166 has a function of forming an external image on the imagesensor through the lens, and capturing a still image or a moving image.

The communication device 1168 is a communication interface realized by acommunication device or the like that connects to the communicationnetwork 112 discussed later, for example. The communication device 1168is realized as an example of the communication unit 1100 of the firstcommunication terminal 110 discussed later, for example. Also, thecommunication device 1168 may be a communication device supportingwireless LAN, or a communication device supporting Long Term Evolution(LTE).

Note that the hardware configuration of the first communication terminal110 is not limited to the foregoing configuration. For example, althoughnot illustrated in FIG. 2, the first communication terminal 110 may alsoinclude a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver function, a clockfunction, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope, a barometric sensor, ageomagnetic sensor, and the like.

—Communication Network 112—

The communication network 112 is a wired or wireless transmissionchannel for information transmitted from a device connected to thecommunication network 112. For example, the communication network 112may encompass a public network such as the Internet, a telephonenetwork, or a satellite communication network, and various local areanetworks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs) including Ethernet(registered trademark). Additionally, the communication network 112 mayalso encompass a dedicated network such as an Internet Protocol virtualprivate network (IP-VPN).

—Second Communication Terminal 120—

The second communication terminal 120 is a communication terminalconnectable to the communication network 112. The second communicationterminal 120, similarly to the first communication terminal 110, may bea mobile phone such as a smartphone, a tablet, a PDA, a digital stillcamera, a digital video camera, or a game console, for example. Inaddition, the second communication terminal 120 may also have a hardwareconfiguration similar to the first communication terminal 110 discussedearlier.

—Playback Device 130—

The playback device 130 is a device that supports Digital Living NetworkAlliance (DLNA), for example, and plays back content such as music andvideo. The playback device 130 includes an audio output device such as aspeaker, for example. The playback device 130 may also include a displaydevice such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) device or an OLED device,for example.

1-1-2. Overview of First Embodiment

The above thus describes a basic configuration of a communication systemaccording to the first embodiment. Next, an overview of the firstembodiment made up of the communication system discussed above will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 3.

Herein, an example of applying the first embodiment to a situation inwhich a user possessing the first communication terminal 110 andmultiple users possessing the second communication terminal 120 gatherat a facility such as a party venue, and collectively enjoy contentplayed back by the playback device 130, will be described as an example.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the present example presupposes a situation inwhich the first communication terminal 110 and the second communicationterminal 120 are able to share and display the same playlist screen 150.Also, a playlist that forms the basis of the playlist screen 150 ismanaged by the first communication terminal 110, and in addition, isshared between the first communication terminal 110 and the secondcommunication terminal 120.

On the playlist screen 150, a user of the first communication terminal110 or a user of the second communication terminal 120 are able tosubmit content stored in the user's own terminal as playback content atrespectively arbitrary timings. For example, if a user of the secondcommunication terminal 120 adds content stored in the user's ownterminal to the playlist screen, the first communication terminal 110acquires meta-information such as a content name and an artist nameassociated with the relevant content from the second communicationterminal 120. Subsequently, the first communication terminal 110 addsthe relevant meta-information to the playlist, and updates the relevantplaylist.

In addition, content submitted to the playlist screen is played back inthe registered order on the playlist, such as by being transmitted in astreaming format from the communication terminal where the relevantcontent is stored to the playback device 130, for example (S11, S12).

As discussed earlier, according to the first embodiment, the firstcommunication terminal 110 acquires, from the second communicationterminal 120, meta-information associated with content stored in thesecond communication terminal 120. Additionally, the first communicationterminal 110 manages a playlist which is shared with the secondcommunication terminal 120 and which is for playing back contentcorresponding to the meta-information acquired from the secondcommunication terminal 120. For this reason, by receiving an instructionfrom the second communication terminal 120 and updating the relevantplaylist, the first communication terminal 110 is able to appropriatelycontrol the type of content to play back as well as the playback timing.Consequently, the first communication terminal 110 is able to supportjoint activity by the first communication terminal 110 and the (one ormore) second communication terminal 120.

1-1-3. Configuration According to First Embodiment 1-1-3-1. FirstCommunication Terminal 110

The foregoing thus describes an overview of the first embodiment. Next,a configuration according to the first embodiment will be described indetail.

FIG. 4 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of thefirst communication terminal 110 according to the first embodiment. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, the first communication terminal 110 according tothe first embodiment includes a communication unit 1100 (acquisitionunit), a playlist management unit 1102, a storage unit 1104, a storedinformation operation unit 1106 (acquisition unit), a playlisttransmitting unit 1108, a playback control unit 1110, a display unit1112, an input unit 1114 (acquisition unit), and an image capture unit1116.

The communication unit 1100 transmits and receives various informationto and from the second communication terminal 120 or the playback device130 via the communication network 112. For example, the communicationunit 1100 receives, from the second communication terminal 120,meta-information associated with content stored in the secondcommunication terminal 120. Also, the communication unit 1100 receives,from the second communication terminal 120, a playback change requestfor changing playback from the currently playing content to contentcorresponding to any of the meta-information recorded in the playlist.Also, the communication unit 1100, under control by the playback controlunit 1110 discussed later, transmits content stored in the storage unit1104 to the playback device 130 in a streaming format, for example. Notethat the above content is music or video, for example. Also, the musicis not limited to songs performed or sung by human beings, and may alsobe sound effects, such as the sound of applause, for example.

The playlist management unit 1102 manages a playlist which is sharedwith the second communication terminal 120 and which is for playing backcontent corresponding to meta-information acquired from the secondcommunication terminal 120.

For example, the playlist management unit 1102 records, in a playlist,meta-information acquired by the communication unit 1100 or the storedinformation operation unit 1106 in association with identificationinformation of the user corresponding to the second communicationterminal 120 or the current device itself from which the relevantmeta-information was acquired. Also, the playlist management unit 1102additionally records, in a playlist, acquired meta-information inassociation with a playback order in which to play back contentcorresponding to the relevant meta-information. Also, whenmeta-information is acquired, the playlist management unit 1102 recordsthe meta-information in the playlist so that the playback order in whichto play back content corresponding to the relevant meta-information isat the end of the playback order recorded in the playlist. Note that thefunctions of the playlist management unit 1102 discussed above will belater described in detail.

At this point, an example of a configuration of a playlist (a playlist140) will be described with reference to FIG. 6. As illustrated in FIG.6, in the playlist 140, a meta-information (content name) column 1400, ameta-information (artist name) column 1402, an account column 1404, anda playback order column 1406 are recorded in association with eachother, for example. Herein, in the account column 1404, the user whosesubmitted the relevant content to the playlist, or in other words, theaccount of the user of the second communication terminal thattransmitted the meta-information to the first communication terminal110, is recorded. Also, in the playback order column 1406, the playbackorder in which to play back the relevant content is recorded. Forexample, the data illustrated on the second row of FIG. 6 indicates thatthe content name is “Song 1”, the artist name is “Artist A”, the accountname that submitted the relevant content is “Akko”, and the playbackorder of the relevant content is “1st”.

The storage unit 1104 stores information such as a playlist recorded bythe playlist management unit 1102, and content or software downloaded bythe user, for example.

The stored information operation unit 1106 acquires data from thestorage unit 1104 or records data to the storage unit 1104, according toan instruction from the playlist management unit 1102. For example, thestored information operation unit 1106 acquires, from the storage unit1104, meta-information associated with content stored in the storageunit 1104. In addition, the stored information operation unit 1106causes the storage unit 1104 to store a playlist recorded by theplaylist management unit 1102.

The playlist transmitting unit 1108 transmits a playlist to the secondcommunication terminal 120. In addition, when the playlist is updated bythe playlist management unit 1102, the playlist transmitting unit 1108transmits the updated playlist to the second communication terminal 120.Note that the playlist transmitting unit 1108 may also be incorporatedinto the first communication terminal 110 to realize the abovefunctions.

The playback control unit 1110, following the playback order recorded inthe playlist, transmits an instruction to play back contentcorresponding to meta-information recorded in the playlist to the secondcommunication terminal 120 storing the relevant content via thecommunication unit 1100. In addition, when the communication unit 1100or the input unit 1114 acquires a playback change request, the playbackcontrol unit 1110 instructs the communication terminal storing thecontent specified by the playback change request so that playbackchanges from the currently playing content to the relevant specifiedcontent.

The display unit 1112 displays various display screens, such as aplaylist screen, for example.

At this point, an example of a configuration of a playlist screen (aplaylist screen 150) will be described with reference to FIG. 7. Asillustrated in FIG. 7, the playlist screen 150 includes, for example, athumbnail 1500 of content recorded in the playlist, a meta-informationdisplay field 1502 of the relevant content, an account field 1504 of thesubmitter of the relevant content, an indicator display 1506 of thecurrently playing content, and a display screen selection button 1508.Herein, the display unit 1112 may display in the thumbnail 1500 athumbnail acquired from the first communication terminal 110 or thesecond communication terminal 120, or display a thumbnail acquired froma designated webpage on the basis of the meta-information of therelevant content. In addition, the display unit 1112 may also display,in the meta-information display field 1502 and the account field 1504,respectively corresponding items from the playlist 140 illustrated inFIG. 6, for example. In addition, the display screen selection button1508 may be a button for toggling the display of display screensprovided for different content to play back, such as a screen forpictures and a screen for music, for example.

The input unit 1114 receives various operations from the user. Forexample, the input unit 1114 receives the playback change requestdiscussed earlier.

The image capture unit 1116 has a function of forming an external imageon an image sensor through a lens, and capturing a still image or amoving image. For example, the image capture unit 1116 may capture aface image of the user of the first communication terminal 110.

Note that, according to the first embodiment, it is also possible toprovide a computer program causing hardware such as the CPU 1150, ROM1152, and RAM 1154 built into the first communication terminal 110 toexhibit the same functionality as the respective components of the firstcommunication terminal 110 discussed above. Also, a storage mediumhaving such a computer program stored therein is also provided.

The above thus describes a configuration of the first communicationterminal 110 according to the first embodiment, but the configuration isnot limited to the configuration discussed above. For example, the imagecapture unit 1116 may not be included. Also, one or more of any of thestorage unit 1104, the stored information operation unit 1106, thedisplay unit 1112, the input unit 1114, and the image capture unit 1116may be provided in another device.

1-1-3-2. Second Communication Terminal 120

Also, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the second communication terminal 120according to the first embodiment includes a communication unit 1200(transmitting unit, receiving unit), a storage unit 1202, a display unit1204, an input unit 1206, and an image capture unit 1208.

The communication unit 1200 transmits and receives various informationto and from the first communication terminal 110 or the playback device130 via the communication network 112. For example, the communicationunit 1200 transmits meta-information associated with content stored inthe storage unit 1202 discussed later to the first communicationterminal, or receives a playlist from the first communication terminal110.

The storage unit 1202 stores information such as a playlist receivedfrom the first communication terminal 110, and content or softwaredownloaded by the user, for example.

The display unit 1204 displays various display screens, such as aplaylist screen, for example.

The input unit 1206 receives various operations from the user. Forexample, the input unit 1206 receives the playback change requestdiscussed earlier.

The image capture unit 1208 has a similar function as the image captureunit 1116 in the first communication terminal 110.

1-1-4. Operation According to First Embodiment

(1-1-4-1. Operation from App Launch to Content Playback)

The above thus describes a configuration according to the firstembodiment. Next, operation according to the first embodiment will bedescribed. First, operation from app launch to content playbackaccording to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a firstsequence diagram illustrating operation from app launch to contentplayback according to the first embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, first, the user of the first communicationterminal 110 downloads an application for using the communication systemaccording to the first embodiment from a designated Uniform ResourceLocator (URL). Subsequently, the storage unit 1104 stores the relevantapplication (S101). Next, the relevant application launches in responseto a user operation on the input unit 1114 (S103).

Similarly, the user of the second communication terminal 120 downloadsthe relevant application from a designated URL. Subsequently, thestorage unit 1202 stores the relevant application (S102). Next, therelevant application launches in response to a user operation on theinput unit 1206 (S104).

After that, as a result of the user operating the relevant applicationvia the input unit 1114, the first communication terminal 110 starts acertain event for playing back content on the relevant communicationsystem (S105).

Note that although the above describes an example in which the firstcommunication terminal 110 starts an event using an applicationdownloaded from a designated URL, the present disclosure is not limitedto such an example. For example, the first communication terminal 110may access a designated web server in the relevant communication system,and start an event on a web page provided by the relevant web server.

Next, the playlist management unit 1102 generates a playlistcorresponding to the relevant event (S106).

Next, the first communication terminal 110 generates a QR code(registered trademark) including an URL, for example, for making use ofthe relevant event (S107).

Next, the display unit 1112 displays the generated QR code (registeredtrademark). In addition, in response to a user operation on the inputunit 1206, the image capture unit 1208 of the second communicationterminal 120 reads the relevant QR code (registered trademark) displayedon the first communication terminal 110 (S108).

Next, in response to a user operation on the input unit 1206, the URLincluded in the relevant QR code (registered trademark) is accessed, anda notification of event participation is transmitted to the firstcommunication terminal 110 (S109).

After the first communication terminal 110 receives the notification ofevent participation, the playlist transmitting unit 1108 transmits theplaylist generated in S106 to the second communication terminal 120 viathe communication unit 1100 (S110).

Next, in response to a user operation on the input unit 1114, the imagecapture unit 1116 captures a face image of the user of the firstcommunication terminal 110 (S111). Similarly, in response to a useroperation on the input unit 1206, the image capture unit 1208 captures aface image of the user of the second communication terminal 120 (S112).Note that the face images captured in S111 and S112 are used to displaythe relevant users on a playlist screen, for example. In addition, theoperation in S111 or S112 may also be omitted.

Similarly, in response to a user operation on the input unit 1206, theimage capture unit 1208 captures a face image of the user of the secondcommunication terminal 120 (S112). Note that the operation in S112 mayalso be omitted.

—Operation of Updating Playlist with Meta-Information Stored in SecondCommunication Terminal 120—

FIG. 9 is a first sequence diagram for describing operation after S112.FIG. 9 illustrates operation in which the first communication terminal110 receives meta-information of content stored in the secondcommunication terminal 120 from the second communication terminal 120,and records the relevant meta-information in a playlist. Note that forthe sake of convenience, even if multiple second communication terminals120 exist, the following description will focus on an arbitrary one fromamong the multiple second communication terminals 120.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, after S112, the display unit 1112 of the firstcommunication terminal 110 uses the relevant application to display aplaylist screen based on the playlist (S113). Similarly, the displayunit 1204 of the second communication terminal 120 uses the relevantapplication to display a playlist screen based on the playlist (S114).

Next, the user of the second communication terminal 120 operates theinput unit 1206 to select desired content to be played back on theplayback device 130 from among content stored in the storage unit 1202(S115).

Next, the communication unit 1200 transmits meta-informationcorresponding to the selected content, and the account of the user ofthe second communication terminal 120, to the first communicationterminal 110 (S116).

Next, the playlist management unit 1102 of the first communicationterminal 110 records, in the playlist, the meta-information and theaccount received from the second communication terminal 120 inassociation with each other. Also, the playlist management unit 1102 mayadditionally record, in the playlist, the relevant meta-information inassociation with a playback order in which to play back the contentcorresponding to the relevant meta-information. Also, the playlistmanagement unit 1102 may record the relevant meta-information in theplaylist so that the playback order in which to play back the contentcorresponding to the relevant meta-information is at the end of theplayback order recorded in the playlist. Next, the stored informationoperation unit 1106 causes the storage unit 1104 to store the updatedplaylist (S117).

Next, the playlist transmitting unit 1108 transmits the updated playlistto all second communication terminals 120 via the communication unit1100 (S118). Note that the operation from S115 to S118 may be repeatedmultiple times.

Next, the playback control unit 1110, following the playback orderrecorded in the playlist, transmits an instruction to play back contentcorresponding to meta-information recorded in the playlist to the secondcommunication terminal 120 storing the respective content via thecommunication unit 1100 (S119).

When the second communication terminal 120 receives the relevantplayback instruction, the communication unit 1200 of the secondcommunication terminal 120 transmits the relevant content stored in thestorage unit 1202 to the playback device 130 in a streaming format, forexample. Subsequently, the playback device 130 plays back the receivedcontent (S120).

—Operation of Updating Playlist with Meta-Information Stored in FirstCommunication Terminal 110—

FIG. 10 is a second sequence diagram for describing operation afterS112. FIG. 10 illustrates operation in which the first communicationterminal 110 records meta-information of content stored in the firstcommunication terminal 110 in a playlist.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, immediately after S112, the firstcommunication terminal 110 and the second communication terminal 120 usethe relevant application to display a playlist screen, similarly to S113and S114 in FIG. 9 (S113, S114).

Next, the user of the first communication terminal 110 operates theinput unit 1114 to select desired content to be played back on theplayback device 130 from among content stored in the storage unit 1104(S121).

Next, the playlist management unit 1102 records, in the playlist,meta-information corresponding to the selected content in associationwith the account of the user of the first communication terminal 110.Also, the playlist management unit 1102 may additionally record, in theplaylist, the relevant meta-information in association with a playbackorder in which to play back the content corresponding to the relevantmeta-information. Also, the playlist management unit 1102 may record therelevant meta-information in the playlist so that the playback order inwhich to play back the content corresponding to the relevantmeta-information is at the end of the playback order recorded in theplaylist. Next, the stored information operation unit 1106 causes thestorage unit 1104 to store the updated playlist (S122).

Next, the playlist transmitting unit 1108 transmits the updated playlistto all second communication terminals 120 via the communication unit1100 (S123). Note that the operation from S121 to S123 may be repeatedmultiple times.

Next, the playback control unit 1110, following the playback orderrecorded in the playlist, transmits the content corresponding to themeta-information recorded in the playlist and stored in the storage unit1104 to the playback device 130 in a streaming format, for example, viathe communication unit 1100. Subsequently, the playback device 130 playsback the received content (S124).

The above thus describes operation after S112 with reference to FIGS. 9and 10, but operation is not limited to the operation discussed above.For example, the operation from S115 to S117 in FIG. 9 and the operationfrom S121 to S123 in FIG. 10 may also be combined, or processed inparallel.

(1-1-4-2. Operation of Changing Playback Content)

—Operation of Changing Playback Content According to Request from SecondCommunication Terminal 120 a—

Next, operation of changing playback content according to the firstembodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a first sequence diagramillustrating operation of changing playback content according to thefirst embodiment.

Note that FIG. 11 illustrates operation in which a second communicationterminal 120 a changes playback from content stored in the secondcommunication terminal 120 a to content stored in a second communicationterminal 120 b. Also, FIG. 11 presupposes a situation in which theplayback device 130 is currently playing back content transmitted fromthe second communication terminal 120 a in a streaming format, forexample (S131).

As illustrated in FIG. 11, while the playback device 130 is currentlyplaying back certain content, the user of the second communicationterminal 120 a operates the input unit 1206 to select desired content tobe played back on the playback device 130 from among the contentdisplayed on the playlist screen other than the currently playingcontent (S132). Note that for the sake of convenience, the descriptionherein supposes that the content selected in S132 is stored in thesecond communication terminal 120 b.

Next, the communication unit 1200 transmits meta-information of thecontent selected in S132, and a playback change request for changingplayback to the relevant content, to the first communication terminal110 (S133).

Next, the playlist management unit 1102, on the basis of the playbackchange request received from the second communication terminal 120 a,updates the playlist so that the content corresponding to the receivedmeta-information comes first in the playback order. Note that theplaylist management unit 1102 changes the playback order of thecurrently playing content according to a predetermined rule, such aschanging the playback order to last, or to second place, for example.Next, the stored information operation unit 1106 causes the storage unit1104 to store the updated playlist (S134).

Next, the playlist transmitting unit 1108 transmits the updated playlistto all second communication terminals 120, such as the secondcommunication terminal 120 a and the second communication terminal 120b, for example, via the communication unit 1100 (S135).

Next, the playback control unit 1110 transmits, to the secondcommunication terminal 120 storing the currently playing content (inFIG. 11, the second communication terminal 120 a) via the communicationunit 1100, an instruction to stop the transmission of content to theplayback device 130. Subsequently, when the second communicationterminal 120 a receives the relevant instruction, the communication unit1200 of the second communication terminal 120 a stops the transmissionof the playing content (S136).

Next, the playback control unit 1110, on the basis of the updatedplaylist, transmits an instruction to play back the content with theplayback order changed to first to the second communication terminal 120b storing the relevant content, via the communication unit 1100 (S137).

When the second communication terminal 120 b receives the relevantplayback instruction, similarly to S120 in FIG. 9, the communicationunit 1200 of the second communication terminal 120 b transmits therelevant content stored in the storage unit 1202 of the secondcommunication terminal 120 b to the playback device 130 in a streamingformat, for example. Subsequently, the playback device 130 plays backthe received content (S138).

—Operation of Changing Playback Content According to Request from FirstCommunication Terminal 110—

FIG. 12 is a second sequence diagram illustrating operation of changingplayback content according to the first embodiment. Note that FIG. 12illustrates operation in which the first communication terminal 110changes playback from content stored in the second communicationterminal 120 a to content stored in the second communication terminal120 b. Also, similarly to FIG. 11, FIG. 12 presupposes a situation inwhich the playback device 130 is currently playing back contenttransmitted from the second communication terminal 120 a (S131).

As illustrated in FIG. 12, while the playback device 130 is currentlyplaying back certain content, the user of the first communicationterminal 110 operates the input unit 1114 to select desired content tobe played back on the playback device 130 from among the contentdisplayed on the playlist screen other than the currently playingcontent (S142). Note that for the sake of convenience, the descriptionherein supposes that the content selected in S142 is stored in thesecond communication terminal 120 b.

Next, the playlist management unit 1102 updates the playlist so that thecontent specified in S142 comes first in the playback order. Next, thestored information operation unit 1106 causes the storage unit 1104 tostore the updated playlist (S143).

Note that the subsequent operation (S144 to S147) is similar to S135 toS138 illustrated in FIG. 11. Consequently, description thereof isomitted herein.

The above thus describes operation of changing playback content withreference to FIGS. 11 and 12, but operation is not limited to theoperation discussed above. For example, the operation from S132 to S134in FIG. 11 and the operation from S142 to S144 in FIG. 12 may also beprocessed in parallel.

1-1-5. Advantageous Effects According to First Embodiment

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the firstcommunication terminal 110 acquires, from the second communicationterminal 120, meta-information associated with content stored in thesecond communication terminal 120. Additionally, the first communicationterminal 110 manages a playlist which is shared with the secondcommunication terminal 120 and which is for playing back contentcorresponding to the meta-information acquired from the secondcommunication terminal 120. For this reason, by receiving a request fromthe second communication terminal 120 and updating the relevantplaylist, the first communication terminal 110 is able to appropriatelycontrol the type of content to play back as well as the playback timing.Consequently, the first communication terminal 110 is able to supportjoint activity by the first communication terminal 110 and the (one ormore) second communication terminal 120.

For example, at a party venue or the like, any participant from amongthe gather participants is able to add meta-information corresponding tocontent stored in the second communication terminal 120 that he or shepossesses to the playlist on the spot, and thereby cause the playbackdevice 130 to play back the relevant content. In addition, anyparticipant is able to use the second communication terminal 120 that heor she possesses to change the playback by selecting desired contentfrom the playlist, and thereby change the content played back on theplayback device 130 at arbitrary timings. In this way, it is possiblefor all participants to jointly select and change the content to playback, and collectively enjoy the playback of content.

In addition, when the playlist is updated, the first communicationterminal 110 transmits the updated playlist to all second communicationterminals 120. For this reason, since each user of the secondcommunication terminal 120 is always able to acquire the most up-to-dateplaylist, users of the second communication terminal 120 are able toshare and enjoy the operation of playing back and changing content amongeach other in real-time.

In addition, the sharing between the first communication terminal 110and the second communication terminal 120, and between secondcommunication terminals 120, is only a playlist in whichmeta-information is recorded, while the content itself is not sharedamong the communication terminals. For this reason, it is possible toprotect the copyright of the content.

In addition, by combining a captured image captured during the event bythe first communication terminal 110 or the second communicationterminal 120 with the meta-information of music and playback order ofthe relevant music recorded in the playlist, the user of the firstcommunication terminal 110 is able to apply the combined information tothe creation of various video. For example, the user of the firstcommunication terminal 110 may create a video recording thecircumstances of the event, a slideshow with added BGM, or the like, andshare the video or the like with users of the second communicationterminal 120.

In addition, the first communication terminal 110 and the secondcommunication terminal 120 do not require special functions, and adevice available to general users, such as a smartphone, for example,may be used. For this reason, there is an advantage of realizing therelevant communication system with a low-cost configuration, withoutusing expensive devices.

1-2. First Modification of First Embodiment

Next, a first modification of the first embodiment will be described.According to the first modification, for example, after the end of anevent that was held, participants of the relevant event are able toreview information related to the circumstances of the relevant eventand content that was played back at the relevant event.

1-2-1. Basic Configuration of Communication System

Hereinafter, first, a basic configuration of a communication systemaccording to the first modification will be described with reference toFIG. 13. As illustrated in FIG. 13, compared to the first embodiment, acommunication system according to the first modification additionallyincludes a playback information database 160 and a display device 170.

—Playback Information Database 160—

The playback information database 160 is a storage device for storinginformation such as a playlist or image file transmitted from the firstcommunication terminal 110, or an image file transmitted from the secondcommunication terminal 120. The playback information database 160includes the playlist table 162 illustrated in FIG. 15 and the imagetable 164 illustrated in FIG. 16, for example.

At this point, an exemplary configuration of the playlist table 162 willbe described with reference to FIG. 15. As illustrated in FIG. 15, inthe playlist table 16, a meta-information (content name) column 1620, ameta-information (artist name) column 1622, an account column 1624, aplayback date column 1626, and a playback time column 1628 are recordedin association with each other, for example. Herein, in the accountcolumn 1624, the account of the user who submitted the relevant contentto the playlist is recorded, similarly to the first embodiment discussedearlier. Also, in the playback date column 1626, the date when therelevant content was played back is recorded. Also, in the playback timecolumn 1628, the time when the relevant content was played back isrecorded. For example, the data illustrated on the second row of FIG. 15indicates that the content name is “Song 1”, the artist name is “ArtistA”, the account name that submitted the relevant content is “Akko”, thedate when the relevant content was played back is “2012/10/26”, and thetime when the relevant content was played back is “20:05”.

Next, an exemplary configuration of the image table 164 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 16. As illustrated in FIG. 16, in theimage table 164, an image file name column 1640, an account column 1642,an email address column 1644, a capture date column 1646, and a capturetime column 1648 are recorded in association with each other, forexample. Herein, in the account column 1642, the account of the user whotransmitted the relevant image file to the playback information database160 is recorded. Herein, in the email address column 1644, the emailaddress of the user who transmitted the relevant image file to theplayback information database 160 is recorded. Also, in the capture datecolumn 1646, the date when the relevant image file was captured isrecorded. Also, in the capture time column 1648, the time when therelevant image file was captured is recorded. For example, the dataillustrated on the second row of FIG. 16 indicates that the image filename is “Image 1”, the account name of the user who transmitted therelevant image file is “Akko”, the email address of the relevant user is“aa@jp.com”, the date when the relevant image file was captured is“2012/10/26”, and the time when the relevant image file was captured is“20:00”.

—Display Device 170—

The display device 170 is a device for displaying a display screentransmitted from a device connected to the communication network 112.For example, the display device 170 is able to display an event reviewscreen transmitted from the playback information database 160, discussedlater.

At this point, an example of a configuration of an event review screen(an event review screen 180) will be described with reference to FIG.17. The event review screen 180 displays a list of information relatedto content that was played back at an event venue, for example, in timeslots during which a still image or a moving image was captured by anevent participant. For this reason, there is an advantage in that anevent participant may reference the event review screen 180 after theevent ends, and more easily recall information related to content thatwas played back during the event.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, for example, the event review screen 180includes an image capture time display field 1800, an image displayfield 1802, a content playback time display field 1804, a contentsubmitter face image display field 1806, a content meta-informationdisplay field 1808, and a content thumbnail 1810. Herein, the imagecapture time display field 1800 displays the time at which the imagedisplayed in the image display field 1802 was captured at an eventvenue, for example.

The above thus describes a basic configuration of a communication systemaccording to the first modification, but the configuration is notlimited to the configuration discussed above. For example, the playbackdevice 130 or the display device 170 may also not be included.

1-2-2. Configuration According to First Modification

(1-2-2-1. First Communication Terminal 110)

The above thus describes a basic configuration of a communication systemaccording to the first modification. Next, a configuration according tothe first modification will be described in detail.

FIG. 14 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of thefirst communication terminal 110 according to the first modification. Asillustrated in FIG. 14, compared to the first embodiment, the firstcommunication terminal 110 according to the first modificationadditionally includes a playback information database operation unit1118.

The playback information database operation unit 1118 transmits, to theplayback information database 160 via the communication unit 1100, acaptured image captured by the image capture unit 1116, a capture timeof the relevant captured image, and identification information of theuser of the first communication terminal 110, thereby causing theplayback information database 160 to store the above three pieces ofinformation in association with each other. Note that the playbackinformation database operation unit 1118 may cause the communicationunit 1100 to transmit to the playback information database 160 not thecaptured image itself that was captured by the image capture unit 1116,but instead meta-information corresponding to the relevant capturedimage, such as information indicating the owner of the relevant capturedimage.

In addition, the playlist management unit 1102 according to the firstmodification has, in addition to the functions provided in the firstembodiment, an additional function of recording, in the playlist,meta-information received from the second communication terminal 120, inassociation with a playback time when the content corresponding to therelevant meta-information was played back, for example. Note that thefunctions of the other structural elements are similar to the firstembodiment.

(1-2-2-2. Second Communication Terminal 120)

The configuration of the second communication terminal 120 according tothe first modification is similar to the first embodiment. Consequently,description thereof is omitted herein.

1-2-3. Operation According to First Modification

Next, operation according to the first modification will be described.FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating operation according to thefirst modification.

As illustrated in FIG. 18, at an event venue, for example, first, inresponse to an operation by the user of the first communication terminal110, the image capture unit 1116 captures a picture of the surroundingsas a still image or a moving image (S151). Similarly, in response to anoperation by the user of the second communication terminal 120, theimage capture unit 1208 captures a picture of the surroundings as astill image or a moving image (S152).

Next, the playback information database operation unit 1118 transmits,to the playback information database 160 via the communication unit1100, a captured image captured by the image capture unit 1116, acapture time of the relevant captured image, and identificationinformation of the user of the first communication terminal 110 (S153).Subsequently, the playback information database 160 associates andstores the captured image, the capture time of the relevant capturedimage, and the account received from the first communication terminal110 (S154).

Next, the communication unit 1100 of the first communication terminal110 transmits a playlist stored in the storage unit 1104 to the playbackinformation database 160 (S155). Subsequently, the playback informationdatabase 160 stores the playlist received from the first communicationterminal 110 (S156).

Next, the communication unit 1100 of the second communication terminal120 transmits the captured image that was captured in S152 and theaccount of the user of the second communication terminal 120 to theplayback information database 160 (S157). Subsequently, the playbackinformation database 160 associates and stores the captured image, thecapture time of the relevant captured image, and the account receivedfrom the second communication terminal 120 (S158).

Next, after the event ends, for example, when the user of the firstcommunication terminal 110 desires to view an event review screenrelated to the relevant event, the communication unit 1100 of the firstcommunication terminal 110 transmits, to the playback informationdatabase 160, information related to the relevant event which is inputby the user into the input unit 1114, such as the date and time of theevent, for example (S159).

Next, the playback information database 160 transmits, to the firstcommunication terminal 110, an event review screen as illustrated inFIG. 17, for example, based on the event-related information receivedfrom the first communication terminal 110 (S160). Note that, as amodification of S160, the playback information database 160 may alsotransmit an event review screen based on the event-related informationreceived from the first communication terminal 110 to the display device170.

Next, similarly to S159 the communication unit 1200 of the secondcommunication terminal 120 transmits, to the playback informationdatabase 160, information related to the relevant event which is inputby the user into the input unit 1206, such as the date and time of theevent, for example (S161).

Next, similarly to S160, the playback information database 160transmits, to the second communication terminal 120, an event reviewscreen based on the event-related information received from the secondcommunication terminal 120 (S162). Note that, as a modification of S162,the playback information database 160 may also transmit an event reviewscreen based on the event-related information received from the secondcommunication terminal 120 to the display device 170.

The above thus describes operation according to the first modification,but operation is not limited to the operation discussed above. Forexample, the operation from S153 to S158 may be processed in parallelrather than sequentially. Also, the operation from S159 to S162 likewisemay be processed in parallel.

Also, in S153 and S157, the first communication terminal 110 and thesecond communication terminal 120, instead of transmitting the capturedimage itself to the playback information database 160, may also transmitmeta-information corresponding to the relevant captured image, such asinformation indicating the owner of the relevant captured image, forexample, to the playback information database 160. In this modification,in S160 and S162, the playback information database 160 generates anevent review screen that includes meta-information corresponding to therelevant captured image instead of the captured image itself, and thentransmits the relevant event review screen to the first communicationterminal 110 or the second communication terminal 120. Subsequently, inthe case of desiring to reference the captured image itself, the firstcommunication terminal 110 and the second communication terminal 120requests permission to access the communication terminal holding therelevant captured image, on the basis of the meta-information displayedon the received event review screen. According to this modification,since the captured image itself is not saved in the playback informationdatabase 160, the first communication terminal 110 and the secondcommunication terminal 120 are unable to directly access a capturedimage captured or stored by another communication terminal. For thisreason, it is possible to sufficiently protect the copyright of thecaptured image.

Also,

1-2-4. Advantageous Effects According to First Modification

As described above, according to the first modification, the firstcommunication terminal 110 records, in a playlist, meta-informationreceived from the second communication terminal 120, in association witha playback time when the content corresponding to the relevantmeta-information was played back, for example. Subsequently, the firstcommunication terminal 110 causes the playback information database 160to store a captured image, a capture time of the relevant capturedimage, and identification information of the user in association witheach other, and additionally causes the playback information database160 to store the playlist. For this reason, the user of the firstcommunication terminal 110 or the second communication terminal 120 isable to acquire, from the playback information database 160, informationincluding the captured image, the capture time of the relevant capturedimage, the playback time of the content, and the meta-information of therelevant content, like an event review screen, for example.Consequently, there is an advantage in that the relevant user mayreference information like an event review screen after an event inwhich the user participated ends, for example, and more easily recallinformation related to content that was played back during the relevantevent.

For example, after the event ends, the user of the first communicationterminal 110 or the second communication terminal 120 is able to satisfyneeds such as wanting to remember the name of a song that was playingwhen a certain photo was being displayed, or wanting to listen to thatmusic again.

1-3. Second Modification of First Embodiment

Next, a second modification of the first embodiment will be described.According to the second modification, an event participant is able topurchase or view content played back at an event venue, for example,during the relevant event or after the event ends.

1-3-1. Basic Configuration of Communication System

Hereinafter, first, a basic configuration of a communication systemaccording to the second modification will be described with reference toFIG. 19. As illustrated in FIG. 19, compared to the first embodiment, acommunication system according to the second modification additionallyincludes a music selling service 190 (content providing server).

—Music Selling Service 190—

The music selling service 190 is an information processing device forselling content such as music, for example, to a device connected to thecommunication network 112. In the music selling service 190, multiplepieces of content are recorded in association with information relatedto each piece of content, and the price of each piece of content.

At this point, an example of data registered in the music sellingservice 190 will be described with reference to FIG. 21. As illustratedin FIG. 21, in the music selling service 190, meta-information (contentname) 1900, meta-information (artist name) 1902, and a price 1904 arerecorded in association with each other, for example. For example, thedata illustrated on the second row of FIG. 21 indicates that the contentname is “Song 1”, the artist name is “Artist A”, and the price of therelevant content is “500 yen”.

The above thus describes a basic configuration of a communication systemaccording to the second modification, but the configuration is notlimited to the configuration discussed above. For example, the playbackinformation database 160 according to the first modification may also beincluded.

1-3-2. Configuration According to Second Modification

(1-3-2-1. First Communication Terminal 110)

The above thus describes a basic configuration of a communication systemaccording to the second modification. Next, a configuration according tothe second modification will be described in detail.

FIG. 20 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of thefirst communication terminal 110 according to the second modification.As illustrated in FIG. 20, compared to the first embodiment, the firstcommunication terminal 110 according to the second modificationadditionally includes a content request unit 1120. Note that thefunctions of the other structural elements are similar to the firstembodiment.

The content request unit 1120 requests the music selling service 190 toprovide content corresponding to arbitrary meta-information recorded ina playlist.

(1-3-2-2. Second Communication Terminal 120)

The configuration of the second communication terminal 120 according tothe second modification is roughly similar to the first embodiment.However, the configuration is not limited to such a configuration, andfunctionality similar to the content request unit 1120 of the firstcommunication terminal 110 additionally may be included, for example.

1-3-3. Operation According to Second Modification

Next, operation according to the second modification will be described.FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram illustrating operation according to thesecond modification.

As illustrated in FIG. 22, at an event venue for example, first, theuser of the first communication terminal 110 operates the input unit1114 to select desired content for purchase or viewing from among thecontent displayed on a playlist display screen (S171). Subsequently, thecontent request unit 1120 acquires meta-information corresponding to thecontent selected by the user from the playlist, and transmits therelevant meta-information to the music selling service 190 via thecommunication unit 1100 (S172).

Next, the music selling service 190 searches to determine whether or notthe content corresponding to the meta-information received from thefirst communication terminal 110 is registered in the service itself(S173). Subsequently, the music selling service 190 transmit a result ofthe relevant search to the first communication terminal 110 (S174).

If the relevant content is registered in the music selling service 190,and in addition, the user of the first communication terminal 110desires to purchase or view the relevant content, the user of the firstcommunication terminal 110 inputs into the input unit 1114 paymentinformation for paying compensation to the music selling service 190,for example. Subsequently, the communication unit 1100 transmits theinput payment information to the music selling service 190 (S175).

Next, the music selling service 190, on the basis of the paymentinformation received from the first communication terminal 110, conductsa designated payment process related to the sale or the like of therelevant content to the first communication terminal 110. Subsequently,if the payment process completes successfully, the music selling service190 transmits the relevant content to the first communication terminal110 (S176).

The above thus describes operation according to the second modification,but operation is not limited to the operation discussed above. Forexample, by performing similar operation between the music sellingservice 190 and the second communication terminal 120 instead of thefirst communication terminal 110, the purchasing or viewing of contentby the second communication terminal 120 may also be conducted.

1-3-4. Advantageous Effects According to Second Modification

As described above, according to the second modification, the firstcommunication terminal 110 is able to request the music selling service190 to purchase or view content corresponding to meta-informationrecorded in a playlist, and settle payment with the music sellingservice 190. For this reason, if the user of the first communicationterminal 110 desires to purchase or view content that was added to theplaylist by any second communication terminal 120 at an event venue, forexample, the user of the first communication terminal 110 is able topurchase or view the relevant content during the relevant event or afterthe event ends.

2. Detailed Description of Second Embodiment

The foregoing thus describes the first embodiment. Next, a secondembodiment will be described. First, a problem that the secondembodiment attempts to solve will be described. In the related art,technology has been developed that creates and provides a photo album,slideshow, or the like by gathering captured images captured by multipleparticipants at an event or the like into a single location, such as acloud service. However, the above technology is still unable to realizethe following functions (A) to (D).

(A) Extracting an image group from among the multiple captured imagescaptured by event participants so that all event participants are evenlyincluded.

(B) Creating a photo album, for example, for effectively communicatingthe atmosphere of the event. For example, displaying the number ofparticipants of the event, or presenting a display reflecting conditionssuch as the lighting of the event.

(C) Providing information about the venue where the event was held, or afacility such as a store, together with a photo album, for example.

(D) Providing functionality that leads to profits for the store wherethe event was held, or giving some kind of benefit to participants whosubmitted a captured image.

Also, the technologies described in JP 2012-133735A and JP 2012-064151Aare unable to provide useful support when it is desirable to choose someimages from among multiple captured images. For example, when multiplecaptured images are captured in a place where many people gather, suchas at an event venue, it is desirable to choose a group of images thatevenly includes the event participants from among the multiple capturedimages, but this cannot be realized with the above technology. Also, agroup of images that includes a specific person such as the organizer ofthe event cannot be automatically chosen.

Thus, focusing on the above circumstances led to the creation of animage processing device 210 according to the second embodiment. Theimage processing device 210 according to the second embodiment is ableto provide useful support when it is desirable to choose some imagesfrom among multiple captured images.

Such an image processing device 210 according to the second embodimentis provided with:

A. a person recognition unit 2104 that recognizes people included ineach of multiple captured images;

B. an image evaluation unit 2106 that evaluates one or more capturedimage groups extracted from among the multiple captured images, on thebasis of a degree of appearance of each person of interest recognized bythe person recognition unit 2104; and

C. an image selection unit 2108 that selects a captured image grouphaving the highest result of the evaluation by the image evaluation unit2106.

2-1. Basic Configuration of Image Processing System

Hereinafter, first, a basic configuration of such an image processingsystem according to the second embodiment will be described withreference to FIG. 23. As illustrated in FIG. 23, the image processingsystem according to the second embodiment includes a communicationterminal 200, a communication network 112, and an image processingdevice 210. Note that the communication network 112 is similar to thefirst embodiment.

—Communication Terminal 200—

The communication terminal 200 is a device connectable to thecommunication network 112. The communication terminal 2000 may be amobile phone such as a smartphone, a tablet, a PDA, a digital stillcamera, a digital video camera, or a game console, for example. Inaddition, the communication terminal 200 may also have a hardwareconfiguration similar to the first communication terminal 110 accordingto the first embodiment.

—Image Processing Device 210—

The image processing device 210 is a device that conducts imageprocessing on the basis of a captured image received from a deviceconnected to the communication network 112, such as the communicationterminal 200, for example. The image processing device 210 may have ahardware configuration similar to the first communication terminal 110according to the first embodiment, but may also have differences, suchas not including the input device 1160 or the image capture device 1166,for example.

The above thus describes a basic configuration of an image processingsystem according to the second embodiment, but the configuration is notlimited to the configuration discussed above. For example, the playbackinformation database 160 or the display device 170 according to thefirst modification of the first embodiment may also be included.

2-2. Overview of Second Embodiment

Next, an overview of the second embodiment made up of the imageprocessing system discussed above will be described with reference toFIG. 24. Herein, as an example, a case will be described in which a userpossessing the communication terminal 200 participates in an event suchas a party, and subsequently, after the relevant event ends, the userdesires to review the conditions of the relevant event, such as whoparticipated in the relevant event, for example.

FIG. 24 is an example of a configuration of a group image generated bythe image processing device 210 from multiple captured images receivedfrom the communication terminal 200, for example (an event summaryscreen 220). As illustrated in FIG. 24, the event summary screen 220includes, for example, a group image display field 2200, an eventinformation display field 2202, an event facility position display field2204, and an event facility captured image display field 2206.

Herein, in the group image display field 2200, there is displayed agroup of captured images (hereinafter designated a captured image group)extracted on the basis of a degree of appearance of persons recognizedfrom each of multiple captured images captured during the relevantevent. Herein, the degree of appearance may be a value according to thenumber of captured images that include a person of interest from among acertain captured image group, or a value for each captured image thatdepends on a degree of noticeability of the person of interest in eachcaptured image.

For example, FIG. 24 illustrates an example in which a captured imagegroup for which the degree of appearance of each person of interest isthe most equal, or in other words, a captured image group in which thepersons recognized from multiple captured images are the most evenlyincluded (the captured image group made up of the captured image 2200 ato the captured image 2200 e) has been selected.

Also in the event information display field 2202, the date when therelevant event was held is displayed together with the number of personsrecognized from the relevant multiple captured images, as illustrated inFIG. 24. Note that in the event information display field 2202, insteadof the number of persons recognized from the relevant multiple capturedimages, information such as the number of people who accessed a webpagerelated to the relevant event provided by the organizer of the relevantevent, or the number of people who transmitted an email to an emailaddress for providing information related to the relevant event may bedisplayed, for example.

Also, in the event facility position display field 2204, positioninformation of a relevant facility is displayed, such as a mapindicating the position of the facility where the relevant event washeld, for example. Also, in the event facility captured image displayfield 2206, captured images of a relevant facility provided by theoperator of a facility such as a store where the relevant event was heldare displayed, such as the captured image 2206 a to the captured image2206 c, for example. Note that captured images of the relevant facilitymay be provided to the event organizer by the operator of the relevantfacility before the event is held. Consequently, the event organizer isable to provide captured images of the relevant facility to likelyparticipants of the event in advance, and thus may entice participationin the event.

As discussed above, according to the second embodiment, the imageprocessing device 210 recognizes a person included in each of multiplecaptured images, and evaluates one or more captured image groupsextracted from the multiple captured images, on the basis of a degree ofappearance of each recognized person of interest. Subsequently, theimage processing device 210 selects the captured image group having thehighest result of the relevant evaluation, and generates a group image.For this reason, the image processing device 210 is able to provideuseful support when it is desirable to choose some images from amongmultiple captured images. For example, the image processing device 210is able to select a captured image group from among multiple capturedimages that were captured during an event so that recognized persons areincluded as evenly as possible.

2-3. Configuration According to Second Embodiment 2-3-1. ImageProcessing Device 210

The foregoing thus describes an overview of the second embodiment. Next,a configuration according to the second embodiment will be described indetail.

FIG. 25 is a function block diagram illustrating a configuration of animage processing device 210 according to the second embodiment. Asillustrated in FIG. 25, the image processing device 210 according to thesecond embodiment includes a communication unit 2100, a storage unit2102, a person recognition unit 2104, an image evaluation unit 2106, animage selection unit 2108, a group image generation unit 2110, a hueanalysis unit 2112, a service information decision unit 2114, and anaccess management unit 2116.

The communication unit 2100 transmits and receives various informationto and from the communication terminal 200 via the communication network112. For example, the communication unit 2100 receives a captured imagefrom the communication terminal 200, and transmits service informationdecided by the service information decision unit 2114 discussed later tothe communication terminal 200 possessed by a person who submitted acaptured image.

The storage unit 2102 stores a captured image received from thecommunication terminal 200, for example, and various software such assoftware for controlling the operation of the image processing device210, for example.

The person recognition unit 2104 uses face recognition technology, forexample, to recognize people included in each of multiple capturedimages stored in the storage unit 2102, for example. Herein, a capturedimage may be a still image or a moving image.

The image evaluation unit 2106 evaluates one or more captured imagegroups extracted from among multiple captured images stored in thestorage unit 2102, for example, on the basis of a degree of appearanceof each person of interest recognized by the person recognition unit2104. Herein, each person of interest is a person included in at leastone of the relevant multiple captured images, for example.

In addition, the image evaluation unit 2106 may also more highlyevaluate a captured image group in which the degree of appearance foreach person of interest is more equal. In addition, the image evaluationunit 2106 may also more highly evaluate a captured image group that isclose to a target distribution in which the degree of appearance of aspecific person of interest is prominent. Note that the specific personof interest may be the organizer of the event, a famous person, thebride and groom in a wedding ceremony, the subject of a birthday party,a performer at a concert, or an athlete at a sports event, for example.

At this point, an example of an image evaluation method by the imageevaluation unit 2106 will be described with reference to FIGS. 26 to 28.First, the image evaluation unit 2106 (1) for each person of interest,computes a degree of appearance for each captured image stored in thestorage unit 2102, for example.

FIG. 26 is an example of a list display (degree of appearance table 230)of frequencies computed by the image evaluation unit 2106. Asillustrated in FIG. 26, in the degree of appearance table 230, a personof interest name column 2300, an image file name column 2302, and anoticeability column 2304 are recorded in association with each other,for example. Herein, in the person of interest name column 2300, theaccount name of each person of interest, or identification informationfor a person of interest such as the name of a person of interest, isrecorded, for example. In the image file name column 2302, the name ofan image file depicting the person of interest recorded in the person ofinterest name column 2300 is recorded. Also, in the noticeability column2304, a computed value of the degree to which the person of interestrecorded in the person of interest name column 2300 is noticeable in theimage file recorded in the image file name column 2302 is recorded.Herein, the noticeability may be the magnitude of the image area of theperson of interest in a captured image, or a degree of expression suchas a smile by the person of interest, for example.

For example, the data illustrated on the second row of FIG. 26 indicatesthat the person of interest name is “A”, the image file name is “Image1”, and that the noticeability of the person of interest “A” in therelevant image file (“Image 1”) is computed to be “1.0”.

Additionally, FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, for eachcaptured image 240, associations between a person of interest 2400 and anoticeability 2402 of the person of interest in each captured image. Forexample, FIG. 27 indicates that the “Image 1” 240 a contains the personsof interest “A” and “B”, and that the noticeability of the person ofinterest “A” in the “Image 1” 240 a is “1.0”, while the noticeability ofthe person of interest “B” in the “Image 1” 240 a is “1.2”.

Next, the image evaluation unit 2106 (2) evaluates one or more capturedimage groups extracted from among multiple captured images, on the basisof the degree of appearance of each person of interest computed with themethod discussed above. FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram for explainingthe evaluation by the image evaluation unit 2106 of captured imagegroups extracted from the three images illustrated in FIG. 27.

The image group column 2500 in FIG. 28 indicates the set of capturedimages included in each captured image group. Note that FIG. 28illustrates an example of presupposing that each captured image groupincludes two or more captured images.

Also, the degree of appearance column 2502 in FIG. 28 illustrates thedegree of appearance of each person of interest in the captured imagegroup indicated in the image group column 2500. Note that FIG. 28illustrates an example in which the degree of appearance of each personof interest in each captured image group is treated as the total value,for each person of interest, of the noticeability computed for thecaptured images included in the relevant captured image group.

Also, the variance of degree of appearance column 2504 indicates, foreach captured image group, a variance value of the degree of appearancewhich is computed from the degree of appearance of each person ofinterest. The variance of degree of appearance column 2504 indicates howmuch the degree of appearance of each person of interest indicated inthe degree of appearance column 2502 varies in each captured imagegroup.

For example, the data illustrated on the second row of FIG. 28 indicatesa captured image group including “Image 1”, “Image 2”, and “Image 3”, inwhich a person of interest “A” is computed to have a degree ofappearance of “2.0”, a person of interest “B” a degree of appearance of“1.8”, and a person of interest “C” a degree of appearance of “1.0”, andin which the variance value of the degree of appearance is computed tobe “0.51”.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 28, the image evaluation unit 2106more highly evaluates a captured image group in which the degree ofappearance for each person of interest is more equal, for example. Inother words, the image evaluation unit 2106 mostly highly evaluates thecaptured image group having the smallest variance of degree ofappearance column 2504, or in other words, the captured image group(Image 1, Image 3) illustrated on the fourth row of FIG. 28.

In addition, the image evaluation unit 2106 may also more highlyevaluate a captured image group that is close to a target distributionin which the degree of appearance of a specific person of interest isprominent. For example, if the specific person of interest is “D” inFIG. 28, the image evaluation unit 2106 may most highly evaluate acaptured image group for which the degree of appearance of “D” isrelatively high and the variance of degree of appearance column 2504 isrelatively small, such as the captured image (Image 1, Image 2, Image 3)illustrated on the second row of FIG. 28, for example.

Next, the description of a configuration of the image processing device210 will continue with reference to FIG. 25 again. After the evaluationby the image evaluation unit 2106 discussed above, the image selectionunit 2108 selects the captured image group having the highest result ofthe relevant evaluation.

The group image generation unit 2110 combines and arranges the capturedimages included in the captured image group selected by the imageselection unit 2108, and thereby generates a group image like on theevent summary screen 220 illustrated in FIG. 24, for example. Note thatthe group image may be a still image, or a moving image such as aslideshow, for example.

Herein, the group image generation unit 2110 may also display a capturedimage containing more persons of interest more largely in the relevantgroup image. In addition, the group image generation unit 2110 may alsodisplay a captured image containing a specific person of interest asdiscussed above more largely in the relevant group image, or displaysuch a captured image in the center of the relevant group image like thecaptured image 2200 c in FIG. 24, for example. In addition, the groupimage generation unit 2110 may also display a captured image that wascaptured more clearly more largely in the relevant group image, or in aprominent area, such as in the center, for example.

In addition, if the captured images are images captured by participantsof an event, the group image generation unit 2110 may additionallyarrange, in the group image, a display indicating the number ofparticipants of the relevant event, like the event information displayfield 2202 illustrated in FIG. 24, for example. Herein, the method ofcomputing the number of participants of the relevant event may involvethe group image generation unit 2110 computing the total number ofpersons included in at least one of the multiple captured images, orcounting the number of persons who accessed a predetermined URL, such asa webpage related to the relevant event.

In addition, if the captured images are images captured by participantsof an event, the group image generation unit 2110 may additionallyarrange, in the group image, a display indicating the position of afacility where the relevant event was conducted, like the event facilityposition display field 2204 illustrated in FIG. 24, for example.

In addition, if the captured images are images captured by participantsof an event, the group image generation unit 2110 may additionallyarrange, in the group image, captured images of a facility where therelevant event was conducted, like the event facility captured imagedisplay field 2206 illustrated in FIG. 24, for example. At this point,the group image generation unit 2110 may also select captured images ofthe facility to arrange in the group image according to a time slotduring which the relevant event was conducted. For example, if the timeslot during which the relevant event was conducted is at night, thegroup image generation unit 2110 selects captured images that capturethe relevant facility at nighttime.

In addition, the group image generation unit 2110 may also select atheme color of the group image, such as a background color of the eventinformation display field 2202 illustrated in FIG. 24, for example, onthe basis of an analysis result from the hue analysis unit 2112discussed later. Note that the functions of the group image generationunit 2110 discussed above will be later described in detail.

The hue analysis unit 2112 analyzes the hue of multiple captured imagesstored in the storage unit 2102, for example. Note that, as discussedabove, an analysis result from the hue analysis unit 2112 is used by thegroup image generation unit 2110.

The service information decision unit 2114 decides service informationto provide to a person who submitted a captured image included in acaptured image group selected by the image selection unit 2108. Forexample, the service information decision unit 2114 decides a number ofpoints or coupons, or a type of benefit, to be provided to a person whosubmitted a captured image by the organizer of the event or the operatorof the event venue, according to the number of submitted capturedimages.

The access management unit 2116 manages the provision, to a participantof an event, of access information including URL information of a serverfor uploading a captured image and participant identificationinformation. Additionally, the access management unit 2116 authenticatesa person who accesses the relevant server on the basis of accessinformation used by the person accessing the relevant server. Herein,the server for uploading a captured image may be the image processingdevice 210 itself, or another device such as the playback informationdatabase 160, for example.

Note that, according to the second embodiment, it is also possible toprovide a computer program causing hardware such as a CPU, ROM, and RAMbuilt into the image processing device 210 to exhibit the samefunctionality as the respective components of the image processingdevice 210 discussed above. Also, a storage medium having such acomputer program stored therein is also provided.

The above thus describes a configuration of an image processing device210 according to the second embodiment, but the configuration is notlimited to the configuration discussed above. For example, one or moreof any of the communication unit 2100, the storage unit 2102, the groupimage generation unit 2110, the hue analysis unit 2112, the serviceinformation decision unit 2114, and the access management unit 2116 maybe provided in another device.

2-4. Operation According to Second Embodiment

The above thus describes a configuration according to the secondembodiment. Next, operation according to the second embodiment will bedescribed. FIG. 29 is a sequence diagram illustrating operationaccording to the second embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 29, first, the user of the communication terminal200 accesses a site for uploading a captured image, provided by theimage processing device 210 (S201).

More specifically, the communication terminal 200 may, for example,access the URL of a website provided by the organizer of an event, theoperator of a facility where the event is held, or the like, scan a QRcode (registered trademark) displayed on the relevant website, and thenaccess the relevant upload site by accessing a URL included in therelevant QR code (registered trademark). Alternatively, thecommunication terminal 200 may transmit a blank email to an emailaddress provided in information from the above organizer or the like,scan a QR code (registered trademark) included in a reply email to therelevant blank email, and then access the relevant upload site byaccessing a URL included in the relevant QR code (registered trademark).

Subsequently, the access management unit 2116 of the image processingdevice 210 authenticates the person who accessed the relevant uploadsite, on the basis of access information used when the communicationterminal 200 accesses the relevant upload site (S202). Herein, therelevant access information may be information such as a user IDincluded in the QR code (registered trademark) discussed above, forexample.

Next, the communication unit 2100 transmits an authentication resultfrom the access management unit 2116 to the communication terminal 200(S203). Note that, if authentication by the access management unit 2116fails, the image processing device 210 may stop communication with thecommunication terminal 200 immediately after S203, and not execute theoperation after S203.

Next, if authenticated by the image processing device 210, thecommunication terminal 200, in response to an operation by the user ofthe communication terminal 200, captures a face image of the relevantuser (S204). Note that the face image may also be used to visuallydisplay the submitter of each captured image in a group image like theevent summary screen 220, by superimposing the face image on a capturedimage submitted by the relevant user in a tag format or the like, forexample. In addition, the operation in S204 may also be omitted.

Next, the communication terminal 200 transmits the face image capturedin S204 to the relevant upload site (S205).

Next, the communication terminal 200 captures an image that includes aparticipant of an event, during the event, for example (S206).

Next, the communication terminal 200 transmits the captured image and anaccount for using the relevant upload site to the relevant upload site.Subsequently, the storage unit 2102 of the image processing device 210stores the captured image transmitted to the relevant upload site(S207).

Next, the person recognition unit 2104 of the image processing device210 recognizes people included in multiple captured images stored in thestorage unit 2102 (S208).

Next, as discussed earlier, the image evaluation unit 2106 evaluates oneor more captured image groups extracted from among multiple capturedimages stored in the storage unit 2102, on the basis of a degree ofappearance of each person of interest recognized by the personrecognition unit 2104 (S209).

Next, the image selection unit 2108 selects the captured image grouphaving the highest evaluation result from the image evaluation unit2106. Subsequently, the group image generation unit 2110 combines andarranges the captured images included in the captured image groupselected by the image selection unit 2108, and thereby generates a groupimage (S210).

Next, the communication unit 2100 transmits the generated group image tothe communication terminal 200. Subsequently, the communication terminal200 displays the received group image (S211).

Next, the service information decision unit 2114 decides serviceinformation to provide to the user of the communication terminal 200,according to the number of captured images transmitted from thecommunication terminal 200 to the upload site, for example.Subsequently, the communication unit 2100 transmits the decided serviceinformation to the communication terminal 200 (S212). Note that theoperation in S212 may also be omitted.

The above thus describes operation according to the second embodiment,but operation is not limited to the operation discussed above. Forexample, if the relevant communication system includes the displaydevice 170, in S211, the communication unit 2100 may also transmit thegroup image to the display device 170 instead of the communicationterminal 200, and the display device 170 may then display the relevantgroup image.

According to this modification, by having the display device 170 displaythe relevant group image, many people, such as participants of an event,for example, are able to view the group image together, and there is anadvantage in being able to share the circumstances of an even with manypeople. Also, by displaying a submitted captured image on the displaydevice 170 in the middle of the event, the image processing device 210is expected to exhibit an advantageous effect of enticing participantsof the relevant event to submit more captured images.

2-5. Advantageous Effects According to Second Embodiment

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the imageprocessing device 210 recognizes a person included in each of multiplecaptured images, and evaluates one or more captured image groupsextracted from the multiple captured images, on the basis of a degree ofappearance of each person of interest recognized by facial recognitiontechnology, for example. Subsequently, the image processing device 210selects the captured image group with the highest results of therelevant evaluation. For this reason, the image processing device 210 isable to provide useful support when it is desirable to choose someimages from among multiple captured images.

For example, the image processing device 210 is able to select acaptured image group from among multiple captured images that werecaptured during an event such as a party so that recognized persons areincluded as evenly as possible, and generate a group image. For thisreason, an event participant may reference the group image generated bythe image processing device 210 after the relevant ends, and therebyreview the circumstances of the relevant event, such as who participatedin the relevant event.

Additionally, from among multiple captured images, the image processingdevice 210 may highly evaluate a captured image with a higher degree ofappearance of a specific person of interest, such as the central personof an event, for example. Subsequently, the image processing device 210may present a display featuring the specific person of interest, such asby displaying an image containing the specific person of interest in thecenter of the group image, for example. For this reason, by referencingthe relevant group image, an event participant is able to more clearlyrecall the circumstances of the relevant event.

In addition, the image processing device 210 places, in the group image,a display indicating the number of persons included in at least one ofthe multiple captured images, or the number of persons who accessed aURL such as a webpage related to the relevant event, for example. Forthis reason, by referencing the relevant group image after the eventends, a viewer of the group image is able to perceive the excitement orother atmosphere of the event.

In addition, the image processing device 210 may place, in the groupimage, captured images depicting the interior or exterior of a facilitywhere an event is held, for example. Also, if captured images of theevent are captured at night, for example, the image processing device210 may select and place, in the group image, captured images of thefacility where the event is held according to the time when the capturedimages were captured, such as by selecting captured images depicting therelevant facility at night. Consequently, since the group image mayrepresent the atmosphere of the event in a unified way overall, byreferencing the relevant group image, a person referencing the groupimage is able to more strongly perceive the ambience of the event.

In addition, since an operator of a facility such as a store where anevent is held may clearly communicate the atmosphere of the relevantfacility by using submitted captured images on a webpage or the like forthe relevant facility, the promotional advantages of the webpage or thelike may be increased, and an improvement in the profits of the relevantfacility may be anticipated.

In addition, the image processing device 210 analyzes the hue ofmultiple captured images, and selects a theme color of the group imageon the basis of the analysis result. For this reason, by referencing therelevant group image, a person referencing the group image is able tomore clearly perceive the atmosphere of the event.

In addition, the image processing device 210 decides service informationto provide to a user of the communication terminal 200 according to thenumber of captured images submitted from the communication terminal 200,for example, and transmits the relevant service information to thecommunication terminal 200. For this reason, since a greater number ofcoupon points may be given to persons who submit a greater number ofcaptured images, for example, an advantageous effect of enticing eventparticipants to submit more captured images may be anticipated.

3. Detailed Description of Third Embodiment

The foregoing thus describes the second embodiment. Next, the thirdembodiment will be described. First, a problem that the third embodimentattempts to solve will be described. In the past, in order to quicklypropagate a QR code (registered trademark) to many people, a method ofputting up a poster or the like with the QR code (registered trademark)printed thereon in a prominent place was adopted. However, with therelevant method, printing and putting up posters is burdensome, and thework of a user scanning a QR code (registered trademark) from a posteris inconvenient. Consequently, a simpler method is desirable.

In addition, the technologies described in JP 2012-133735A and JP2012-064151A are unable to support the clear indication of individualtransmission histories of information in association with users. Forexample, at a place where many participants gather, such as a partyvenue, a history of how information was transmitted among which users,and in what order, cannot be ascertained.

Thus, focusing on the above circumstances led to the creation of acommunication terminal 310 according to the third embodiment. Thecommunication terminal 310 according to the third embodiment is able tosupport the clear indication of individual transmission histories ofinformation in association with users.

Such a communication terminal 310 according to the third embodiment isprovided with:

A. an information acquisition unit 3102 that acquires, from anothercommunication terminal 310, first information that includes connectioninformation for connecting to a communication service and identificationinformation of a user of the other communication terminal 310; and

B. an information generation unit 3104 that, on the basis of the firstinformation acquired by the information acquisition unit 3102, generatessecond information that includes the connection information andidentification information of a user of the current terminal.

Also, an information processing device 320 (service management device)according to the third embodiment is provided with:

C. a communication unit 3200 (receiving unit) that receivesidentification information of a user of a communication terminal 310 a(first communication terminal) and identification information of a userof a communication terminal 310 b (second communication terminal) fromthe communication terminal 310 b, which is a communication terminal thatreceived the propagation of connection information of a communicationservice and identification information of a user of the current terminalfrom the communication terminal 310 a; and

D. a graph generation unit 3202 that generates a social graph thatindicates a relationship between the user of the communication terminal310 a and the user of the communication terminal 310 b.

3-1. Basic Configuration of Communication System

Hereinafter, first, a basic configuration of such a communication systemaccording to the third embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 30. As illustrated in FIG. 30, the communication system accordingto the third embodiment includes a communication terminal 310, acommunication network 112, and an information processing device 320.Note that the communication network 112 is similar to the firstembodiment.

—Communication Terminal 310—

The communication terminal 310 is a device connectable to thecommunication network 112. The communication terminal 3100 may be amobile phone such as a smartphone, a tablet, or a PDA, for example. Inaddition, the communication terminal 310 may also have a hardwareconfiguration similar to the first communication terminal 110 accordingto the first embodiment. Also, the communication terminal 310 mayfurthermore include a short-range wireless communication function, inaddition to the hardware configuration according to the firstcommunication terminal 110 discussed earlier.

In addition, the communication terminal 310 may also be a servicemanagement device capable of providing a communication service toanother communication terminal 310 or the like, for example. Herein, thecommunication service may be a service for sharing content with anothercommunication terminal, or a content playback service as described inthe first embodiment, for example. In addition, the communicationterminal 310 may also include the functionality of an access point forconnecting another communication terminal 310 or the like to apredetermined wireless LAN via Wi-Fi, for example.

—Information Processing Device 320—

The information processing device 320 is a device connectable to thecommunication network 112. Also, the information processing device 320may have a hardware configuration similar to the first communicationterminal 110 according to the first embodiment, but may also havedifferences, such as not including the input device 1160 or the imagecapture device 1166, for example. In addition, the informationprocessing device 320 may also be a service management device capable ofproviding a communication service as discussed above to multiplecommunication terminals 310, for example. Also, the informationprocessing device 320 may be identical to one of the communicationterminals 310.

3-2. Overview of Third Embodiment

Next, an overview of the third embodiment made up of the communicationsystem discussed above will be described with reference to FIG. 31.Herein, as an example, a case will be described in which respectiveusers possessing a communication terminal 310 a to a communicationterminal 310 d desire to participate in a party, and in addition, therespective users desire to participate in an event held by thecommunication terminal 310 a on a communication service provided by theinformation processing device 320, for example.

First, the event organizer “A”, using the communication terminal 310 ain his or her possession, provides first information that includesconnection information for connecting to the relevant communicationservice and the user identification information of “A”, such as a QRcode (registered trademark), for example, to another party participant“B”, who may be a friend of the organizer “A”, for example (S31). Next,the relevant person “B”, using the communication terminal 310 b in hisor her possession, scans and acquires the relevant first informationfrom the communication terminal 310 a (S32).

Subsequently, the communication terminal 310 b connects to the relevantcommunication service using the connection information included in theacquired first information, and transmits the user identificationinformation of “A” and the user identification information of “B” to theinformation processing device 320. Subsequently, the informationprocessing device 320 generates a social graph indicating a relationshipbetween “A” and “B”.

Next, the communication terminal 310 b, on the basis of the acquiredfirst information, generates second information that includes therelevant connection information and the user identification informationof “B”, such as a QR code (registered trademark), for example.Subsequently, the relevant person “B” uses the communication terminal310 b to provide the relevant second information to other partyparticipants “C” and “D”, for example.

Next, the relevant persons “C” and “D”, using the communication terminal310 c and the communication terminal 310 d in their respectivepossession, scan and acquire the relevant second information from thecommunication terminal 310 b.

Subsequently, the communication terminal 310 c and the communicationterminal 310 d respectively connect to the relevant communicationservice using the connection information included in the acquired secondinformation, and transmit the user identification information of “B” andtheir own user identification information to the information processingdevice 320. Next, the information processing device 320 adds, to thegenerated social graph, a social graph indicating a relationship between“B” and “C”, and a social graph indicating a relationship between “B”and “D”. Note that the social graph 330 illustrated on the right side ofFIG. 31 is the final social graph updated by the above process.

As discussed above, according to the third embodiment, the communicationterminal 310 b acquires, from another communication terminal 310 a,first information that includes connection information for connecting toa communication service and identification information of a user of theother communication terminal 310 a. Also, the communication terminal 310b, on the basis of the acquired first information, generates secondinformation that includes the relevant connection information andidentification information of the user of the current terminal itself.For this reason, the communication terminal 310 b is able to acquire therelevant connection information in association with identificationinformation of the user of the other communication terminal 310 a fromthe other communication terminal communication terminal 310 a, andpropagate the relevant connection information in association withidentification information of the user of the communication terminal 310b to another communication terminal 310 c. Consequently, it is possibleto support the clear indication of individual transmission histories ofinformation in association with users, in a format such as the socialgraph 330, for example.

3-3. Configuration According to Third Embodiment 3-3-1. CommunicationTerminal 310

The foregoing thus describes an overview of the third embodiment. Next,a configuration according to the third embodiment will be described indetail. FIG. 32 is a function block diagram illustrating a configurationof a communication terminal 310 and an information processing device 320according to the third embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 32, thecommunication terminal 310 according to the third embodiment includes acommunication unit 3100, an information acquisition unit 3102, aninformation generation unit 3104, a transmission control unit 3106, aninformation propagation unit 3108, a storage unit 3110, and an inputunit 3112.

The communication unit 3100 transmits and receives various informationto and from the information processing device 320 via the communicationnetwork 112. For example, the communication unit 3100 transmitsidentification information of a user of another communication terminal310, which is the source from which the information acquisition unit3102 discussed later acquires the first information, in association withidentification information of the user of the current terminal, to theinformation processing device 320.

The information acquisition unit 3102 acquires, from anothercommunication terminal 310, first information that includes connectioninformation for connecting to a communication service and identificationinformation of a user of the relevant other communication terminal 310.Herein, the connection information may include address information of aservice management device that manages the relevant communicationservice, such as another communication terminal 310 or the informationprocessing device 320, for example, and identification information ofthe relevant communication service. In addition, the connectioninformation may also include an identifier of a predetermined accesspoint connected to the relevant communication service, such as anothercommunication terminal 310, for example, and authentication informationfor connecting to the predetermined access point. Additionally, thefirst information may also be an information code such as a QR code(registered trademark) or a barcode, for example.

Also, if the first information is an information code, the informationacquisition unit 3102 may also acquire first information displayed onanother communication terminal 310 via image capture. In addition, theinformation acquisition unit 3102 may also acquire the first informationfrom another communication terminal 310 via short-range wirelesscommunication.

The information generation unit 3104, on the basis of the firstinformation acquired by the information acquisition unit 3102, generatessecond information that includes the connection information discussedabove and identification information of the user of the currentterminal. Herein, the second information may also be an information codesuch as a QR code (registered trademark) or a barcode, for example.

The transmission control unit 3106 causes the communication unit 3100 totransmit the identification information of the user of anothercommunication terminal 310 and the identification information of theuser of the current terminal to the service management device discussedabove. In addition, the transmission control unit 3106 may also causethe communication unit 3100 to transmit the identification informationof the user of another communication terminal 310 and the identificationinformation of the user of the current terminal immediately after theinformation acquisition unit 3102 acquires the first information, forexample.

The information propagation unit 3108 propagates second informationgenerated by the information generation unit 3104 to anothercommunication terminal 310. Also, if the second information is aninformation code, the information propagation unit 3108 may alsopropagate the second information by displaying the second information onthe communication terminal 310, for example. In addition, theinformation propagation unit 3108 may also propagate the secondinformation to another communication terminal 310 via short-rangewireless communication.

The storage unit 3110 stores various information such as firstinformation acquired by the information acquisition unit 3102, andvarious software such as software for controlling the operation of thecommunication terminal 310, for example.

The input unit 3112 receives various operations from the user. Forexample, the input unit 3112 receives operations such as an instructionoperation to acquire first information with the information acquisitionunit 3102, and an instruction operation to propagate second informationwith the information propagation unit 3108.

Note that, according to the third embodiment, it is also possible toprovide a computer program causing hardware such as a CPU, ROM, and RAMbuilt into the communication terminal 310 to exhibit the samefunctionality as the respective components of the communication terminal310 discussed above. Also, a storage medium having such a computerprogram stored therein is also provided.

The above thus describes a configuration of the communication terminal310 according to the third embodiment, but the configuration is notlimited to the configuration discussed above. For example, one or moreof any of the communication unit 3100, the transmission control unit3106, the information propagation unit 3108, the storage unit 3110, andthe input unit 3112 may be provided in another device. In addition,functions similar to the structural elements of the informationprocessing device 320 discussed later may also be included in thecommunication terminal 310.

3-3-2. Information Processing Device 320

Also, as illustrated in FIG. 32, a information processing device 320according to the third embodiment includes a communication unit 3200, agraph generation unit 3202, and a storage unit 3204.

The communication unit 3200 transmits and receives various informationto and from the communication terminal 310 via the communication network112. For example, the communication unit 3200 receives identificationinformation of the user of a communication terminal 310 a andidentification information of the user of a communication terminal 310 bfrom a communication terminal 310 b, which is a communication terminalthat received the propagation of first information from thecommunication terminal 310 a.

The graph generation unit 3202 generates a social graph indicating arelationship between the user of the communication terminal 310 a (firstcommunication terminal) and the user of the communication terminal 310 b(second communication terminal) received by the communication unit 3200.In addition, if the communication unit 3200 receives identificationinformation of the user of the communication terminal 310 b andidentification information of the user of a communication terminal 310 c(third communication terminal) from the communication terminal 310 c,which is a communication terminal that received the propagation of firstinformation from the communication terminal 310 b, the graph generationunit 3202 may also add, to the above social graph, a graph indicating arelationship between the user of the communication terminal 310 b andthe user of the communication terminal 310 c.

The storage unit 3204 stores various software, such as software forcontrolling the operation of the information processing device 320, forexample. In addition, the storage unit 3204 associates and records theidentification information of the user of the other communicationterminal 310 a, which is the propagation source of the firstinformation, and the identification information of the user of thecommunication terminal 310 b, which were received from the communicationterminal 310 b, in a propagation information table 322 as illustrated inFIG. 33, for example, and additionally stores the propagationinformation table 322.

At this point, an example of the configuration of the propagationinformation table 322 will be described with reference to FIG. 33. Asillustrated in FIG. 33, in the propagation information table 322, aconnecting person ID column 3220, a propagation source ID column 3222,and a propagation destination ID column 3224 are recorded in associationwith each other. For example, the data illustrated on the third row ofFIG. 33 indicates that the communication unit 3200 received, from acommunication terminal 310 b whose user has the identificationinformation “B”, “A” as identification information of the user ofanother communication terminal 310 a, which is the propagation source ofthe first information. Also, the relevant data indicates that thecommunication unit 3200 received, from a communication terminal 310 dwhose user has the identification information “D”, the fact that secondinformation generated by the communication terminal 310 b was propagatedto the relevant communication terminal 310 d.

The above thus describes a configuration of an information processingdevice 320 according to the third embodiment, but the configuration isnot limited to the configuration discussed above. For example, thestorage unit 3204 may also be provided in another device.

3-4. Operation According to Third Embodiment

The above thus describes a configuration according to the thirdembodiment. Next, operation according to the third embodiment will bedescribed. FIG. 34 is a sequence diagram illustrating operationaccording to the third embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 34, first, in response to a user operation on theinput unit 3112, the communication terminal 310 a activates anapplication for using a relevant communication service downloaded inadvance (S301). Subsequently, in response to a user operation on theinput unit 3112, the communication terminal 310 a holds an event on therelevant communication service (S302).

Next, the information generation unit 3104 of the communication terminal310 a generates first information that includes connection informationfor connecting to the relevant communication service and identificationinformation of the user of the communication terminal 310 a (S303). Notethat the first information may also be an information code such as a QRcode (registered trademark), for example.

At this point, an example of data included in the first informationgenerated in S303 (information code 340 a) will be described withreference to FIG. 35. As illustrated in FIG. 35, the information code340 a includes, as the connection information, an SSID 3400 a, awireless LAN password 3402 a, a service provider address 3404 a, andevent information 3406 a. Additionally, the information code 340 aincludes a propagator ID 3408 a. For example, the information code 340 aillustrated in FIG. 35 indicates that “ACSPNT01” is included as the ID(SSID) of an access point on a wireless LAN, “192.168.0.11” as the IPaddress of the service provider, “S003@asda” as the event information,which is an identifier of the relevant event, for example, and “A” asidentification information of the user of the communication terminal 310that generated the relevant information code 340 a.

Next, a communication terminal 310 b, which is a different communicationterminal from the communication terminal 310 a, activates an applicationfor using a relevant communication service downloaded in advance, inresponse to a user operation on the input unit 3112 (S304).

Next, the information acquisition unit 3102 of the communicationterminal 310 b acquires the first information from the communicationterminal 310 a (S305). At this point, if the first information is aninformation code, the information propagation unit 3108 of thecommunication terminal 310 a may display the first information on thecommunication terminal 310 a, for example, and the informationacquisition unit 3102 of the communication terminal 310 b may acquirethe displayed first information via image capture.

Next, in response to a user operation on the input unit 3112, thecommunication unit 3100 of the communication terminal 310 b connects tothe relevant communication service on the basis of the connectioninformation included in the acquired first information. Subsequently, inresponse to a user operation on the input unit 3112, the communicationterminal 310 b participates in the event held by the communicationterminal 310 a on the relevant communication service (S306).

Next, the communication unit 3100 of the communication terminal 310 btransmits identification information of the user of the communicationterminal 310 a, which is the source from which the informationacquisition unit 3102 acquired the first information, in associationwith identification information of the user of the current terminal, tothe information processing device 320. Subsequently, the graphgeneration unit 3202 of the information processing device 320 generatesa social graph that indicates a relationship between the user of thecommunication terminal 310 a and the user of the communication terminal310 b (S307).

Next, the information generation unit 3104 of the communication terminal310 b, on the basis of the first information acquired by the informationacquisition unit 3102, generates second information that includes therelevant connection information and identification information of theuser of the communication terminal 310 b (S308). Note that the firstinformation may also be an information code such as a QR code(registered trademark), for example.

At this point, an example of data included in the second informationgenerated in S308 (information code 340 b) will be described withreference to FIG. 35. As illustrated in FIG. 35, the information code340 b may include information similar to the connection informationincluded in the information code 340 a as connection information, forexample. Also, the propagator ID 3408 b includes “B”, which isidentification information of a user related to the communicationterminal 310 that generated the relevant information code 340 b.

Next, a communication terminal 310 c, which is a different communicationterminal from the communication terminal 310 a and the communicationterminal 310 b, activates an application for using a relevantcommunication service downloaded in advance, in response to a useroperation on the input unit 3112 (S309).

Next, the information acquisition unit 3102 of the communicationterminal 310 c acquires the second information from the communicationterminal 310 b (S310). At this point, if the second information is aninformation code, the information propagation unit 3108 of thecommunication terminal 310 b may display the second information on thecommunication terminal 310 b, for example, and the informationacquisition unit 3102 of the communication terminal 310 c may acquirethe displayed second information via image capture.

Next, in response to a user operation on the input unit 3112, thecommunication unit 3100 of the communication terminal 310 c connects tothe relevant communication service on the basis of the connectioninformation included in the acquired second information. Subsequently,in response to a user operation on the input unit 3112, thecommunication terminal 310 c participates in the event held by thecommunication terminal 310 a on the relevant communication service(S311).

Next, the communication unit 3100 of the communication terminal 310 ctransmits identification information of the user of the communicationterminal 310 b, which is the source from which the informationacquisition unit 3102 acquired the second information, in associationwith identification information of the user of the current terminal, tothe information processing device 320. Subsequently, the graphgeneration unit 3202 of the information processing device 320 adds, tothe social graph generated in S307, a graph that indicates arelationship between the user of the communication terminal 310 b andthe user of the communication terminal 310 c (S312).

The above thus describes operation according to the third embodiment,but operation is not limited to the operation discussed above. Forexample, the operation in S308 may also be conducted between S305 andS306. As another example, if the communication terminal 310 aadditionally includes the functionality of the information processingdevice 320, in S307 and S312, the communication terminal 310 b and thecommunication terminal 310 c may also transmit the user identificationinformation discussed above to the communication terminal 310 a insteadof the information processing device 320.

3-5. Advantageous Effects According to Third Embodiment

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the communicationterminal 310 b acquires, from another communication terminal 310 a,first information that includes connection information for connecting toa communication service and identification information of a user of theother communication terminal 310 a. Also, the communication terminal 310b, on the basis of the acquired first information, generates secondinformation that includes the relevant connection information andidentification information of the user of the current terminal itself.For this reason, the communication terminal 310 b is able to acquire therelevant connection information in association with identificationinformation of the user of the other communication terminal 310 a fromanother communication terminal, and propagate the relevant connectioninformation in association with identification information of the userof the communication terminal 310 b to another communication terminal310 c. Consequently, it is possible to support the clear indication ofindividual transmission histories of information in association withusers, in a format such as the social graph 330, for example.

Also, the communication terminal 310 transmits identificationinformation of a user of the communication terminal 310 that is thepropagation source of the first information, and identificationinformation of the user of the current terminal to the informationprocessing device 320, either at the same time or immediately afterconnecting to a communication service on the basis of the firstinformation acquired from another communication terminal 310. For thisreason, the information processing device 320 is able to generate andupdate a social graph dynamically according to connections to thecommunication service by the communication terminals 310, and thusindividual transmission histories of information may be visualizeddynamically.

Also, the user of the communication terminal 310 may acquire a socialgraph generated by the information processing device 320 from theinformation processing device 320 after an event ends, for example, andthereby an overview of event participants, or utilize the social graphas reference data for estimating relationships among participants.

Also, if the first information is an information code, the communicationterminal 310 acquires first information displayed on anothercommunication terminal 310 via image capture. For this reason, the userof the communication terminal 310 is able to capture an image of theinformation code more quickly and easily compared to the case ofcapturing an image of an information code printed on paper, such as aposter, for example.

Also, as a general rule, the communication terminal 310 propagatessecond information that includes only connection information forconnecting to the communication service and identification informationof the identification information of the current terminal to anothercommunication terminal 310. For this reason, since important informationsuch as personal information is not shared between communicationterminals 310, there is almost no risk of important information beingleaked or used without authorization.

In addition, if a communication terminal 310 does not acquire firstinformation from another communication terminal 310, that communicationterminal 310 is unable to connect to the relevant communication serviceas a general rule. For this reason, a person who is ineligible to jointhe communication service is unable to connect to the relevantcommunication service, for example, and thus a highly securecommunication service may be realized.

4. Detailed Description of Fourth Embodiment

The foregoing thus describes the third embodiment. Next, the fourthembodiment will be described. First, a problem that the fourthembodiment attempts to solve will be described. In the past, servicesfor sharing photos and data have been developed, but such sharingservices always require users to go through user registration, and alsolog into the relevant sharing service with a username and password pair.For this reason, a user is burdened with the above work of registrationand login, and also becomes unable to login if the user forgets his orher password. Particularly, for applications in which the user wants to“share data just this time”, the above work of registration and loginmay impose a large burden on the user in some cases.

In addition, the technologies described in JP 2012-133735A and JP2012-064151A are unable to adequately support the reviewing of usagedetails for a communication service after the relevant communicationservice ends, and for example, are unable to support the reviewing ofdetails of usage on a communication service temporarily provided at aparty venue or the like after the relevant communication service ends.

Thus, focusing on the above circumstances led to the creation of a firstcommunication terminal 410 (communication terminal) according to thefourth embodiment. The first communication terminal 410 according to thefourth embodiment is able to support the reviewing of usage details fora communication service after the relevant communication service ends.

Such a first communication terminal 410 according to the fourthembodiment is provided with:

A. a communication unit 4100 (acquisition unit) that acquires serviceidentification information associated with a communication service froman information processing device 430 that manages shared content;

B. a user identification information issuing unit 4102 that issuesservice user identification information associated with the serviceidentification information to a second communication terminal 420 (othercommunication terminal); and

C. a transmission control unit 4104 that causes the communication unit4100 to transmit the service identification information, and the serviceuser identification information issued by the user identificationinformation issuing unit 4102, to the information processing device 430.

Also, a second communication terminal 420 (communication terminal)according to the fourth embodiment is provided with:

D. a service usage request unit 4202 that requests usage of acommunication service from a first communication terminal 410 (othercommunication terminal);

E. a communication unit 4200 (receiving unit) that receives, from thefirst communication terminal 410, service identification information ofthe communication service and service user identification informationassociated with the service identification information; and

F. a transmission control unit 4204 that causes the communication unit4200 to transmit meta-information corresponding to content stored in thecurrent terminal to the first communication terminal 410.

4-1. Basic Configuration of Communication System

Hereinafter, first, a basic configuration of a such a communicationsystem according to the fourth embodiment will be described withreference to FIG. 36. As illustrated in FIG. 36, the communicationsystem according to the fourth embodiment includes a first communicationterminal 410, a second communication terminal 420, a communicationnetwork 112, and an information processing device 430. Note that thecommunication network 112 is similar to the first embodiment.

—First Communication Terminal 410—

The first communication terminal 410 is a communication terminalconnectable to the communication network 112. The first communicationterminal 410 may be a mobile phone such as a smartphone, a tablet, atablet personal computer (PC), a PDA, a digital still camera, a digitalvideo camera, or a game console, for example. In addition, the firstcommunication terminal 410 may also have a hardware configurationsimilar to the first communication terminal 110 according to the firstembodiment. In addition, the first communication terminal 410 may alsoinclude the functionality of an access point for connecting the secondcommunication terminal 420 or the like to a predetermined wireless LANvia Wi-Fi, for example.

—Second Communication Terminal 420—

The second communication terminal 420 is a communication terminalconnectable to the communication network 112. The second communicationterminal 420 may be a mobile phone such as a smartphone, a tablet, alaptop PC, a PDA, a digital still camera, a digital video camera, or agame console, for example. In addition, the first communication terminal410 may also have a hardware configuration similar to the firstcommunication terminal 110 according to the first embodiment.

—Information Processing Device 430—

The information processing device 430 is a device that manages contentshared between the first communication terminal 410 and the secondcommunication terminal 420. Also, the information processing device 320may have a hardware configuration similar to the first communicationterminal 110 according to the first embodiment, but may also havedifferences, such as not including the input device 1160 or the imagecapture device 1166, for example.

4-2. Overview of Fourth Embodiment

Next, an overview of the fourth embodiment made up of the communicationsystem discussed above will be described with reference to FIG. 37.Herein, an example will be described in which, on a local networkprovided by a predetermined access point such as the first communicationterminal 410, for example, a person A possessing the first communicationterminal 410 desires to organize a content sharing service, and inaddition, a person B and a person C possessing the second communicationterminal 420 desire to participant in the relevant content sharingservice.

In such a situation, first, the first communication terminal 410acquires service identification information associated with the relevantcontent sharing service from the information processing device 430installed outside of the relevant local network, for example. Next, thefirst communication terminal 410 uses the acquired serviceidentification information to organize a content sharing service on therelevant local network. Subsequently, the first communication terminal410 issues service user identification information associated with therelevant service identification information to the persons B and Cpossessing the second communication terminal 420 who desire toparticipate in the relevant content sharing service. Different serviceuser identification information is issued per person.

Next, the relevant content sharing service is used among the threepersons A, B, and C, and content such as captured images respectivelyowned by each person is shared, for example (S41).

Next, when the relevant content sharing service ends, for example, thefirst communication terminal 410 transmits the relevant serviceidentification information, a list of service user identificationinformation issued to the second communication terminal 420, and contextof the relevant content sharing service, such as a captured image, forexample, to the information processing device 430 (S42). After that, thefirst communication terminal 410 ends the relevant content sharingservice. Note that the information processing device 430 may provide aservice (hereinafter designated the parent service) that stores usagedetails such as the context of the relevant content sharing service.

Next, the second communication terminal 420 possessed by the person B,after separating from the relevant local network, for example, transmitsthe relevant service identification information and the service useridentification information issued by the first communication terminal410 to the information processing device 430 via the communicationnetwork 112, for the purpose of reviewing the above context of thecontent sharing service (S43).

After that, if the information processing device 430 confirms that theperson B is a user of the relevant content sharing service by matchingthe information received in S42, the information processing device 430permits the second communication terminal 420 possessed by the person Bto reference the relevant context and the like, for example (S44).

As discussed above, according to the fourth embodiment, the firstcommunication terminal 410 acquires service identification informationassociated with a communication service from a information processingdevice 430 that manages shared content, and issues service useridentification information associated with the relevant serviceidentification information to the second communication terminal 420.Subsequently, the first communication terminal 410 transmits therelevant service identification information, and the service useridentification information issued to the second communication terminal420, to the information processing device 430. For this reason, a userof the second communication terminal 420 may transmit the relevantservice identification information and the service user identificationinformation issued by the first communication terminal 410 to theinformation processing device 430 via the communication network 112,thereby enabling the information processing device 430 to ensure theidentity of a user of the relevant communication service even after thecommunication service ends. Consequently, the first communicationterminal 410 is able to support the maintaining of connections madebetween users on the relevant communication service, even after therelevant communication service ends.

4-3. Configuration According to Fourth Embodiment 4-3-1. FirstCommunication Terminal 410

The foregoing thus describes an overview of the fourth embodiment. Next,a configuration according to the fourth embodiment will be described indetail. FIG. 38 is a function block diagram illustrating a configurationof the first communication terminal 410 according to the fourthembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 38, the first communication terminal410 according to the fourth embodiment includes a communication unit4100 (acquisition unit), a user identification information issuing unit4102, a transmission control unit 4104, a storage unit 4106, a servicehistory acquisition unit 4108, an input unit 4110, and a display unit4112.

The communication unit 4100 transmits and receives various informationto and from the second communication terminal 420 and the informationprocessing device 430 via the communication network 112. For example,the communication unit 4100 receives service identification informationassociated with a communication service from the information processingdevice 430. Herein, the communication service is a service for sharingcontent, for example. Also, the content may be text information, music,or images, for example.

In addition, the communication unit 4100 receives, from the secondcommunication terminal 420, meta-information corresponding to contentstored in the relevant second communication terminal 420, and serviceuser identification information issued to the relevant secondcommunication terminal 420. In addition, the communication unit 4100receives, from the second communication terminal 420, a provisionrequest for service user identification information corresponding tometa-information stored in the storage unit 4106 discussed later. Inaddition, the communication unit 4100, under control by the transmissioncontrol unit 4104 discussed later, transmits received serviceidentification information to the second communication terminal 420.

The user identification information issuing unit 4102 issues serviceuser identification information associated with received serviceidentification information to the second communication terminal 420. Inaddition, the user identification information issuing unit 4102 mayadditionally issue the above service user identification information tothe first communication terminal 410.

The transmission control unit 4104 causes the communication unit 4100 totransmit the receiver service identification information, and theservice user identification information issued by the useridentification information issuing unit 4102, to the informationprocessing device 430. In addition, the transmission control unit 4104may also cause the communication unit 4100 to transmit the above serviceidentification information to the second communication terminal 420. Inaddition, if the provision request discussed above is received from thesecond communication terminal 420, the transmission control unit 4104may also cause the communication unit 4100 to transmit service useridentification information corresponding to meta-information specifiedby the relevant provision request to the second communication terminal420. In addition, the transmission control unit 4104 may also cause thecommunication unit 4100 to transmit meta-information stored in thestorage unit 4106 discussed later, and service user identificationinformation corresponding to the relevant meta-information, to theinformation processing device 430. Note that the functions of thetransmission control unit 4104 discussed above will be described laterin detail.

The storage unit 4106 stores meta-information received from the secondcommunication terminal 420 and service user identification informationissued to the relevant second communication terminal 420 in associationwith each other, for example. In addition, the storage unit 4106 mayalso store meta-information corresponding to content stored in thestorage unit 4106 and service user identification information issued tothe first communication terminal 410 in association with each other. Inaddition, if the transmission control unit 4104 causes the communicationunit 4100 to transmit the above meta-information and the above serviceuser identification information to the information processing device430, the storage unit 4106 may delete the relevant meta-information andthe relevant service user identification information stored in thestorage unit 4106.

The service history acquisition unit 4108 acquires, from the informationprocessing device 430, meta-information stored in the informationprocessing device 430 and service user identification informationcorresponding to the relevant meta-information.

The input unit 4110 receives various operations from the user. Forexample, the input unit 4110 receives a user operation that activates anapplication for using a communication service.

The display unit 4112 displays various display screens, such as adisplay screen generated by an application for using a communicationservice, such as a content sharing service, for example.

At this point, FIG. 40 will be referenced to describe an example of adisplay screen from an application for using a content sharing service(content sharing service screen 440). As illustrated in FIG. 40, thecontent sharing service screen 440 includes a display screen selectionbutton 4400, a content display field 4402, and a content owner faceimage display field 4404. Herein, the display screen selection button4400 may be a button for toggling the display of display screensprovided for different content to play back, such as a screen forpictures and a screen for music, for example. Note that although FIG. 40illustrates an example in which the type of content to share is capturedimages, the configuration is not limited to such an example, and thecontent to share may also be music, movies, chat content, or the like.As another example, if the content to share is music, on the contentdisplay field 4402, a thumbnail related to the relevant content may alsobe displayed, for example. Additionally, the content sharing servicescreen 440 may also be generated on the basis of a content sharing list432 as illustrated in FIG. 41, which is stored in the storage unit 4106,for example.

Next, an example of a configuration of the content sharing list 432 willbe described with reference to FIG. 41. As illustrated in FIG. 41, inthe content sharing list 432, a meta-information (content name) column4320, a meta-information (artist name) column 4322, and a content owneraccount column 4324 are recorded in association with each other, forexample. Herein, in the content owner account column 4324, the accountof the user who submitted the relevant content to the relevant contentsharing service is recorded. For example, the data illustrated on thesecond row of FIG. 41 indicates that the content name is “Song 1”, thecontent type is “Music”, and the account name of the owner of therelevant content is “Akko”.

Note that, according to the fourth embodiment, it is also possible toprovide a computer program causing hardware such as a CPU, ROM, and RAMbuilt into the first communication terminal 410 to exhibit the samefunctionality as the respective components of the first communicationterminal 410 discussed above. Also, a storage medium having such acomputer program stored therein is also provided.

The above thus describes a configuration of the first communicationterminal 410 according to the fourth embodiment, but the configurationis not limited to the configuration discussed above. For example, one ormore of any of the storage unit 4106, the service history acquisitionunit 4108, the input unit 4110, and the display unit 4112 may beprovided in another device.

4-3-2. Second Communication Terminal 420

Also, as illustrated in FIG. 39, the second communication terminal 420according to the fourth embodiment includes a communication unit 4200(receiving unit), a service usage request unit 4202, a transmissioncontrol unit 4204, a storage unit 4206, a service history acquisitionunit 4208, an input unit 4210, and a display unit 4212.

The communication unit 4200 transmits and receives various informationto and from the first communication terminal 410 and the informationprocessing device 430 via the communication network 112. For example,the communication unit 4200 receives, from the first communicationterminal 410, service identification information of a communicationservice and service user identification information associated with therelevant service identification information. In addition, thecommunication unit 4200, under control by the transmission control unit4204 discussed later, transmits the above service identificationinformation and the above service user identification informationreceived from the first communication terminal 410 to the informationprocessing device 430.

The service usage request unit 4202 requests usage of a communicationservice from the first communication terminal 410 via the communicationunit 4200.

The transmission control unit 4204 controls the communication unit 4200to transmit various information to the first communication terminal 410and the information processing device 430. For example, the transmissioncontrol unit 4204 causes the communication unit 4200 to transmitmeta-information of content stored in the storage unit 4206 to the firstcommunication terminal 410.

The storage unit 4206 stores various information such as the aboveservice identification information and the above service useridentification information received by the communication unit 4200, andvarious software such as an application for using a communicationservice, for example.

Note that the functions of the service history acquisition unit 4208,the input unit 4210, and the display unit 4212 are similar to theservice history acquisition unit 4108, the input unit 4110, and thedisplay unit 4112 in the first communication terminal 410, respectively.

The above thus describes a configuration of the second communicationterminal 420 according to the fourth embodiment, but the configurationis not limited to the configuration discussed above. For example, one ormore of any of the service usage request unit 4202, the service historyacquisition unit 4208, and the input unit 4210 may also be provided inanother device.

4-4. Operation According to Fourth Embodiment 4-4-1. Operation ofContent Sharing Service

The above thus describes a configuration according to the fourthembodiment. Next, operation according to the fourth embodiment will bedescribed. First, operation during a communication service according tothe fourth embodiment will be described. Note that, as an example, thefollowing describes operation in the case in which the communicationservice is a content sharing service.

FIG. 42 is a sequence diagram illustrating operation during a contentsharing service according to the fourth embodiment. As illustrated inFIG. 42, first, in response to a user operation on the input unit 4110,the first communication terminal 410 activates an application for usinga content sharing service downloaded in advance (S401).

Next, in response to a user operation on the input unit 4110, thecommunication unit 4200 requests the information processing device 430for service identification information for a content sharing servicethat the user desires to organize on a certain local network (S402).

Next, the information processing device 430 issues serviceidentification information of the relevant content sharing service onthe basis of the above request received from the first communicationterminal 410, and subsequently transmits the relevant serviceidentification information to the first communication terminal 410(S403).

Next, in response to a user operation on the input unit 4110, the firstcommunication terminal 410 uses the relevant service identificationinformation to start a content sharing service on the relevant localnetwork (S404).

Next, the user identification information issuing unit 4102 issuesservice user identification information associated with the serviceidentification information received in S403 to the first communicationterminal 410 (S405). Subsequently, the storage unit 4106 stores theservice identification information received in S403 and the service useridentification information issued in S405 in association with each other(S406).

Next, in response to a user operation on the input unit 4210, the secondcommunication terminal 420 activates an application for using a contentsharing service downloaded in advance (S407).

Next, the service usage request unit 4202 of the second communicationterminal 420 requests usage of the content sharing service organized bythe first communication terminal 410 from the first communicationterminal 410 via the communication unit 4200 (S408).

Next, the user identification information issuing unit 4102, on thebasis of the above request received from the second communicationterminal 420, issues service user identification information, which isdifferent from the service user identification information issued inS405, to the second communication terminal 420. Subsequently, thestorage unit 4106 stores the service identification information receivedin S403 and the service user identification information issued to thesecond communication terminal 420 in association with each other (S409).

Next, the transmission control unit 4104 causes the communication unit4100 to transmit the service identification information stored in thestorage unit 4106 and the service user identification information issuedin S409 to the second communication terminal 420. Subsequently, thestorage unit 4206 of the second communication terminal 420 stores theservice identification information and the service user identificationinformation received from the first communication terminal 410 inassociation with each other (S410).

At this point, if multiple second communication terminals 420 areconnected to the relevant local network, the operation from S407 to S410may be repeated a number of times equal to the number of secondcommunication terminals 420 connected to the relevant local network.

Next, the first communication terminal 410 and the second communicationterminal 420 display the content sharing service screen illustrated inFIG. 40, for example, share content stored in each terminal, chat, andthe like (S411).

More specifically, if content is submitted by the second communicationterminal 420, for example, first, the communication unit 4100 of thefirst communication terminal 410 receives, from the second communicationterminal 420, meta-information corresponding to content stored in thesecond communication terminal 420, and service user identificationinformation issued to the second communication terminal 420.Subsequently, the storage unit 4106 stores the meta-information and theservice user identification information received from the secondcommunication terminal 420 in association with each other, like in thecontent sharing list illustrated in FIG. 41, for example.

Also, if content is submitted by the first communication terminal 410,the storage unit 4106 of the first communication terminal 410 similarlystores meta-information corresponding to the relevant content and theservice user identification information issued to the firstcommunication terminal 410 in association with each other.

Also, if the second communication terminal 420 a desires to play backmusic owned by another user, for example, first, the communication unit4100 of the first communication terminal 410 receives a provisionrequest for the service user identification information issued to thecommunication terminal that owns the relevant music (assumed to be thesecond communication terminal 420 b herein for the sake of convenience).Subsequently, the transmission control unit 4104 causes thecommunication unit 4100 to transmit the service user identificationinformation of the second communication terminal 420 b stored in thestorage unit 4106 to the second communication terminal 420 a.Consequently, the second communication terminal 420 a is able to requestthe second communication terminal 420 b to transmit the relevant musicin a streaming format, or request playback by a playback deviceconnected to the relevant local network, for example.

Next, when the content sharing service ends, for example, thetransmission control unit 4104 of the first communication terminal 410causes the communication unit 4100 to transmit the serviceidentification information, a list of service user identificationinformation issued in S405 and S409, and context of the relevant contentsharing service, which are stored in the storage unit 4106, to theinformation processing device 430 (S412).

After that, the information processing device 430 stores the serviceidentification information, the list of service user identificationinformation, and the context of the relevant content sharing service,which were received from the first communication terminal 410, inassociation with each other (S413).

4-4-2. Operation of Review after Content Sharing Service

Next, operation of a review after a content sharing service according tothe fourth embodiment will be described. FIG. 43 is a sequence diagramillustrating operation of a review after a content sharing serviceaccording to the fourth embodiment. Note that FIG. 43 presupposes thatthe first communication terminal 410 and the second communicationterminal 420 have separated from the above local network as a generalrule.

At this point, if the user of the first communication terminal 410desires to review the context of the content sharing service in S411 ofFIG. 42, as illustrated in FIG. 43, first, in response to a useroperation on the input unit 4110, the first communication terminal 410activates the application for using a content sharing service asdiscussed earlier (S421).

Next, in response to a user operation on the input unit 4110, theservice history acquisition unit 4108 causes the communication unit 4100to transmit the service identification information of the relevantcontent sharing service, the service user identification informationissued to the current terminal, and meta-information corresponding tothe desired content to reference, for example, which are stored in thestorage unit 4106, to the information processing device 430 via thecommunication network 112 (S422). At this point, the service historyacquisition unit 4108 may also not cause the communication unit 4100 totransmit the above meta-information to the information processing device430.

Next, the information processing device 430, according to the aboveinformation received from the first communication terminal 410,transmits the context of the relevant content sharing service, and theidentification information of the communication terminal of the owner ofthe content corresponding to the received meta-information (assumed tobe the second communication terminal 420 b herein for the sake ofconvenience), for example, to the first communication terminal 410(S423). At this point, if meta-information is not received in S422, theinformation processing device 430 may also not transmit theidentification information of the communication terminal of the owner ofthe above content to the first communication terminal 410.

Note that, as a modification of S423, the information processing device430, according to the above information received from the firstcommunication terminal 410, may also transmit a group image like theevent summary screen 220 illustrated in FIG. 24, for example, to thefirst communication terminal 410. According to this modification, theuser of the first communication terminal 410 is able to review in aformat in which the details of shared content, such as captured images,for example, are briefly summarized.

Next, in response to a user operation on the input unit 4110, thecommunication unit 4100 of the first communication terminal 410 requeststhe second communication terminal 420 b to display or play back content,for example (S424).

Next, the second communication terminal 420 b, according to the requestreceived from the first communication terminal 410, displays therelevant content on the first communication terminal 410, or transmitsthe relevant content in a stream format, for example (S425).

Next, if the user of the second communication terminal 420 a similarlydesires to review the context of the content sharing service, inresponse to a user operation on the input unit 4210, the secondcommunication terminal 420 a activates the application for using acontent sharing service as discussed earlier (S426).

Next, in response to a user operation on the input unit 4210, theservice history acquisition unit 4208 causes the communication unit 4200to transmit the service identification information of the relevantcontent sharing service, the service user identification informationissued to the current terminal, and meta-information corresponding tothe desired content to reference, for example, which are stored in thestorage unit 4206, to the information processing device 430 via thecommunication network 112 (S427). At this point, the service historyacquisition unit 4208 may also not cause the communication unit 4200 totransmit the above meta-information to the information processing device430.

Next, the information processing device 430, according to the aboveinformation received from the second communication terminal 420 a,transmits the context of the relevant content sharing service, and theidentification information of the communication terminal of the owner ofthe content corresponding to the received meta-information (assumed tobe the second communication terminal 420 b herein for the sake ofconvenience), for example, to the second communication terminal 420 a(S428). At this point, if meta-information is not received in S427, theinformation processing device 430 may also not transmit theidentification information of the communication terminal of the owner ofthe above content to the second communication terminal 420 a.

Note that, as a modification of S428, similarly to S423, the informationprocessing device 430, according to the above information received fromthe second communication terminal 420 a, may also transmit a group imagelike the event summary screen 220 illustrated in FIG. 24, for example,to the second communication terminal 420 a.

Next, in response to a user operation on the input unit 4210, thecommunication unit 4200 of the second communication terminal 420 arequests the second communication terminal 420 b to display or play backcontent, for example (S429).

Next, the second communication terminal 420 b, according to the requestreceived from the second communication terminal 420 a, displays therelevant content on the second communication terminal 420 a, ortransmits the relevant content in a stream format, for example (S430).

The above thus describes operation of a review after a content sharingservice with reference to FIG. 43, but operation is not limited to theoperation discussed above. For example, the operation from S421 to S425and the operation from S426 to S430 may be processed in parallel insteadof being processed in the order illustrated in FIG. 43.

In addition, before S421, for example, the information processing device430 may also cause the first communication terminal 410 and the secondcommunication terminal 420 to register with a parent service managed bythe information processing device 430, for example. Additionally, aspart of the process of registering with the relevant parent service, theinformation processing device 430 may also cause the user of the firstcommunication terminal 410 and the second communication terminal 420 toregister more personal information, such as the user's name, age, andoccupation, for example. According to this modification, since theinformation processing device 430 is able to collect more personalinformation related to the relevant user, there is an advantage ofutilizing such information for advertising and marketing, for example,or enabling easier introduction of paid service functionality.

4-5. Advantageous Effects According to Fourth Embodiment

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the firstcommunication terminal 410 acquires service identification informationassociated with a communication service from a information processingdevice 430 that manages shared content, and issues service useridentification information associated with the relevant serviceidentification information to the second communication terminal 420.Subsequently, the first communication terminal 410 transmits therelevant service identification information, and the service useridentification information issued to the second communication terminal420, to the information processing device 430. For this reason, a userof the second communication terminal 420 may transmit the relevantservice identification information and the service user identificationinformation issued by the first communication terminal 410 to theinformation processing device 430 via the communication network 112,thereby enabling the information processing device 430 to ensure theidentity of a user of the relevant communication service even after thecommunication service ends. Consequently, the first communicationterminal 410 is able to support the maintaining of connections madebetween users on the relevant communication service, even after therelevant communication service ends.

For example, if the communication service is a content sharing service,the user of the second communication terminal 420 is able to review orre-share context such as captured images and chat content, for example,that were shared with the first communication terminal 410 or anothersecond communication terminal 420, even after the communication serviceends.

Also, if the communication service is a content sharing service, theinformation shared between the first communication terminal 410 and thesecond communication terminal 420, or between two second communicationterminals 420, may be just meta-information corresponding to content andservice user identification information, as discussed above. For thisreason, since the content itself is not shared, it is possible toprotect the copyright of content such as music, for example.

Also, the information that is provided to the first communicationterminal 410 and another second communication terminal 420 in order forthe second communication terminal 420 to use the communication serviceis, as a general rule, just service identification information andservice user identification information acquired from the firstcommunication terminal 410. For this reason, the second communicationterminal 420 does not publish personal information such asidentification information of the current terminal or privateinformation, for example, to the first communication terminal 410 andanother second communication terminal 420, and thus there is almost norisk of personal information being used without authorization.Consequently, the user of the second communication terminal 420 is ableto use the communication service casually and without hesitation. Also,there is an advantage in that the user of the first communicationterminal 410 may anticipate that more users of the second communicationterminal 420 will participate in the communication service, because ofthe above reasons.

The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been describedabove with reference to the accompanying drawings, whilst the presentdisclosure is not limited to the above examples, of course. A personskilled in the art may find various alterations and modifications withinthe scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that theywill naturally come under the technical scope of the present disclosure.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

(1)

An image processing device including:

a person recognition unit that recognizes a person included in each of aplurality of captured images;

an image evaluation unit that evaluates one or more captured imagegroups extracted from among the plurality of captured images, on thebasis of a degree of appearance for each person of interest recognizedby the person recognition unit; and

an image selection unit that selects a captured image group having thehighest result of the evaluation by the image evaluation unit.

(2)

The image processing device according to (1), wherein

the degree of appearance is a value according to a number of capturedimages that includes a person of interest in the captured image group.

(3)

The image processing device according to (2), wherein

the degree of appearance is additionally a value for each captured imagethat includes a person of interest, according to a degree ofnoticeability of the person of interest in each captured image.

(4)

The image processing device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein

each person of interest is a person included in at least one of theplurality of captured images.

(5)

The image processing device according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein

the image evaluation unit more highly evaluates a captured image groupin which the degree of appearance for each person of interest is moreequal.

(6)

The image processing device according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein

the image evaluation unit more highly evaluates a captured image groupthat is close to a target distribution in which the degree of appearancefor a specific person of interest is prominent.

(7)

The image processing device according to any one of (1) to (6), furtherincluding:

a group image generation unit combines and arranges captured imagesincluded in the captured image group selected by the image selectionunit, and thereby generates a group image.

(8)

The image processing device according to (7), wherein

the group image generation unit additionally arranges, in the groupimage, a display indicating a number of persons included in at least oneof the plurality of captured images.

(9)

The image processing device according to (7), wherein

the captured image is an image captured by a participant of a certainevent, and

the group image generation unit additionally arranges, in the groupimage, a display indicating a number of participants of the event.

(10)

The image processing device according to (9), wherein

the number of participants of the event is obtained by totaling a numberof persons who have accessed a URL related to the event.

(11)

The image processing device according to any one of (7) to (10), wherein

the captured image is an image captured by a participant of a certainevent, and

the group image generation unit additionally arranges, in the groupimage, a display indicating a position of a facility where the event hasbeen conducted.

(12)

The image processing device according to any one of (7) to (11), wherein

the captured image is an image captured by a participant of a certainevent, and

the group image generation unit additionally arranges, in the groupimage, a captured image of a facility where the event has beenconducted.

(13)

The image processing device according to (12), wherein

the group image generation unit selects a captured image of the facilitythat is arranged in the group image according to a time slot duringwhich the event has been conducted.

(14)

The image processing device according to any one of (7) to (12), furtherincluding:

a hue analysis unit that analyzes a hue of the plurality of capturedimages, wherein

the group image generation unit selects a theme color of the group imageon the basis of an analysis result from the hue analysis unit.

(15)

The image processing device according to any one of (1) to (15), furtherincluding:

-   -   a service information decision unit that decides service        information that is provided to a person who has submitted a        captured image included in the captured image group selected by        the image selection unit, and

a transmitting unit that transmits the service information decided bythe service information decision unit to the person who has submittedthe captured image.

(16)

The image processing device according to any one of (1) to (15), furtherincluding:

an access management unit that manages provision, to a participant of acertain event, of access information including URL information of aserver for uploading a captured image and participant identificationinformation, and authenticates a person who accesses the server on thebasis of the access information used by the person accessing the server.

(17)

An image processing method including:

recognizing a person included in each of a plurality of captured images;

evaluating one or more captured image groups extracted from among theplurality of captured images, on the basis of a degree of appearance foreach recognized person of interest; and

selecting a captured image group having the highest result of theevaluation.

(18)

A program for causing a computer to function as:

a person recognition unit that recognizes a person included in each of aplurality of captured images;

an image evaluation unit that evaluates one or more captured imagegroups extracted from among the plurality of captured images, on thebasis of a degree of appearance for each person of interest recognizedby the person recognition unit; and

an image selection unit that selects a captured image group having thehighest result of the evaluation by the image evaluation unit.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   110 first communication terminal-   112 communication network-   120 second communication terminal-   130 playback device-   160 playback information database-   170 display device-   190 music selling service-   200 communication terminal-   210 image processing device-   310 communication terminal-   320 information processing device-   410 first communication terminal-   420 second communication terminal-   430 information processing device-   1100 communication unit-   1102 playlist management unit-   1104 storage unit-   1106 stored information operation unit-   1108 playlist transmitting unit-   1110 playback control unit-   1112 display unit-   1114 input unit-   1116 image capture unit-   1118 playback information database operation unit-   1120 content request unit-   1150 CPU-   1152 ROM-   1154 RAM-   1156 internal bus-   1158 interface-   1160 input device-   1162 output device-   1164 storage device-   1166 image capture device-   1168 communication device-   1200 communication unit-   1202 storage unit-   1204 display unit-   1206 input unit-   1206 display unit-   1208 image capture unit-   2100 communication unit-   2102 storage unit-   2104 person recognition unit-   2106 image evaluation unit-   2108 image selection unit-   2110 group image generation unit-   2112 hue analysis unit-   2114 service information decision unit-   2116 access management unit-   3100 communication unit-   3102 information acquisition unit-   3104 information generation unit-   3106 transmission control unit-   3108 information propagation unit-   3110 storage unit-   3112 input unit-   3200 communication unit-   3202 graph generation unit-   3204 storage unit-   4100 communication unit-   4102 user identification information issuing unit-   4104 transmission control unit-   4106 storage unit-   4108 service history acquisition unit-   4110 input unit-   4112 display unit-   4200 communication unit-   4202 service usage request unit-   4204 transmission control unit-   4206 storage unit-   4208 service history acquisition unit-   4210 input unit-   4212 display unit

The invention claimed is:
 1. An image processing device comprising: aperson recognition unit that recognizes a person included in each of aplurality of captured images; an image evaluation unit that evaluatesone or more captured image groups extracted from among the plurality ofcaptured images, based on (i) a degree of appearance for each person ofinterest recognized by the person recognition unit and (ii) a varianceof the degree of appearance which is indicative of an amount ofvariation within a captured image group of the degree of appearance ofeach person of interest therein; and an image selection unit thatselects a captured image group having the highest result of theevaluation by the image evaluation unit.
 2. The image processing deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the degree of appearance is a valueaccording to a number of captured images that includes a person ofinterest in the captured image group.
 3. The image processing deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the degree of appearance is additionally avalue for each captured image that includes a person of interest,according to a degree of noticeability of the person of interest in eachcaptured image.
 4. The image processing device according to claim 1,wherein each person of interest is a person included in at least one ofthe plurality of captured images.
 5. The image processing deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the image evaluation unit more highlyevaluates a captured image group in which the degree of appearance foreach person of interest is more equal.
 6. The image processing deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the image evaluation unit more highlyevaluates a captured image group that is close to a target distributionin which the degree of appearance for a specific person of interest isprominent.
 7. The image processing device according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a group image generation unit combines and arranges capturedimages included in the captured image group selected by the imageselection unit, and thereby generates a group image.
 8. The imageprocessing device according to claim 7, wherein the group imagegeneration unit additionally arranges, in the group image, a displayindicating a number of persons included in at least one of the pluralityof captured images.
 9. The image processing device according to claim 7,wherein the captured image is an image captured by a participant of acertain event, and the group image generation unit additionallyarranges, in the group image, a display indicating a number ofparticipants of the event.
 10. The image processing device according toclaim 9, wherein the number of participants of the event is obtained bytotaling a number of persons who have accessed a URL related to theevent.
 11. The image processing device according to claim 7, wherein thecaptured image is an image captured by a participant of a certain event,and the group image generation unit additionally arranges, in the groupimage, a display indicating a position of a facility where the event hasbeen conducted.
 12. The image processing device according to claim 7,wherein the captured image is an image captured by a participant of acertain event, and the group image generation unit additionallyarranges, in the group image, a captured image of a facility where theevent has been conducted.
 13. The image processing device according toclaim 12, wherein the group image generation unit selects a capturedimage of the facility that is arranged in the group image according to atime slot during which the event has been conducted.
 14. The imageprocessing device according to claim 7, further comprising: a hueanalysis unit that analyzes a hue of the plurality of captured images,wherein the group image generation unit selects a theme color of thegroup image on the basis of an analysis result from the hue analysisunit.
 15. The image processing device according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a service information decision unit that decides serviceinformation that is provided to a person who has submitted a capturedimage included in the captured image group selected by the imageselection unit, and a transmitting unit that transmits the serviceinformation decided by the service information decision unit to theperson who has submitted the captured image.
 16. The image processingdevice according to claim 1, further comprising: an access managementunit that manages provision, to a participant of a certain event, ofaccess information including URL information of a server for uploading acaptured image and participant identification information, andauthenticates a person who accesses the server on the basis of theaccess information used by the person accessing the server.
 17. An imageprocessing method comprising: recognizing a person included in each of aplurality of captured images; evaluating one or more captured imagegroups extracted from among the plurality of captured images, based on(i) a degree of appearance for each recognized person of interest and(ii) a variance of the degree of appearance which is indicative of anamount of variation within a captured image group of the degree ofappearance of each person of interest therein; and selecting a capturedimage group having the highest result of the evaluation.
 18. Anon-transitory computer storage medium having stored thereon a programwhich when executed causes a computer to function as: a personrecognition unit that recognizes a person included in each of aplurality of captured images; an image evaluation unit that evaluatesone or more captured image groups extracted from among the plurality ofcaptured images, based on (i) a degree of appearance for each person ofinterest recognized by the person recognition unit and (ii) a varianceof the degree of appearance which is indicative of an amount ofvariation within a captured image group of the degree of appearance ofeach person of interest therein; and an image selection unit thatselects a captured image group having the highest result of theevaluation by the image evaluation unit.